Bulgaria, Czech Republic calls for EU reforms on migrants

SOFIA, Bulgaria – The prime ministers of the Czech Republic and Bulgaria are calling for swift reform of the European Union's asylum system.

Czech Premier Andrej Babis and Bulgarian counterpart Boyko Borissov agreed that a reasonable compromise on migrant issues has to be found in the EU.

Babis told a news conference Monday in Bulgaria's capital that "the mandatory redistribution of migrants is unacceptable and divisive."

He said that the issue of migrant quotas should be resolved in a way acceptable for all EU member states.

Borissov, whose country took up the rotating presidency of the European Council at the beginning of the year, insisted that asylum-seekers should enter the EU only through official border checkpoints. He also proposed safe areas for asylum-seekers to be set up outside the EU.