At the European Council in Bratislava, the EU has pledged to release 160 million euro to Bulgaria as extra support for management of border control and dealing with the migration crisis. This step was not surprising and was preceded by statements of European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. In fact the decision to release aid has not been made by the European Council, because the Bratislava summit was informal. The decision has been made at the European Commission and this shows in the fact that it has been announced by Juncker. Extra financing released to Bulgaria can be viewed as subjected to the logic of another decision made a few days earlier. Under it in 2017 the EU budget for the poorest regions will be cut by about 25 percent while at the same time payments for migrants and security will grow by 25 percent.

It is beyond doubt that the extra financing to Bulgaria has high value as an act of support in the ordeals that this country is faced with in the context of migration pressure and in the meantime attests to a high appreciation of the Bulgarian efforts in dealing with the problem. However, extra aid released at such a difficult and even critical moment for the EU is above all and mostly a confirmation of a growing determination for the strengthening of the outer borders of the European Union including Bulgaria's land borders with Turkey, Macedonia and Serbia and the border with the Black Sea. In the context of this new policy Bulgaria will be supported by 200 Frontex officers and new automobiles for its border guard.

However, apart from benefiting Bulgaria, this extra financing also adds new responsibilities and more expectations to the country. In March next year the EU is going to adopt a new roadmap for its development after Brexit which among other things will also include anti-migration measures, improving security and the fight with terrorism as well as cooperation in defense. In return to the active solidarity of the EU, Bulgaria is now expected not only to improve the management of refugee flows, but also to upgrade the capacity of services working with refugees and to further strengthen border surveillance and control. Sofia will be expected to launch new ideas of how to cut illegal immigration including the signature of agreements with other countries apart from Turkey. In Bratislava, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov already gave a statement in this sense making the Bulgarian mission in Afghanistan's future dependent on Kabul consent to sign a readmission agreement for Afghan illegal migrants. After the summit Borissov demanded the implementation of an old idea - for creating security zones in close proximity of conflicts where from those displaced by fighting could return to their homes when changes in the political context take place.

It has turned out that Bulgaria is at the center of important developments surrounding the migration crisis without even being a member of the Schengen Area for free movement of people yet. Though it remains outside this Area based on assumptions it does not comply with accession criteria, it is a paradox that the start of the European border police on 6 October will be given in Bulgaria, not in any other EU country. This is a paradox loaded with meaning, is it not?

English Daniela Konstantinova