Law enforcement in Europe

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that his country was "long overdue" for a Schengen visa agreement.

Bulgaria has called again on the EU to recognize the need for protection of the country's land and maritime borders with Turkey from a possible shifting of migration inflow following the closure of the Western Balkans route.

An implementation report on the EU-Turkey joint action plan seeking to tackle the growing refugee flows into Europe has highlighted that the number of arrivals decreased from more than 200,000 to less than 100,000 from October 2015 to January this year, thanks to the commitment of both sides.

Bulgaria has tied its support for a final EU-Turkey agreement on curbing the migrant inflow into Europe to the opportunity to send illegal migrants back to Turkey, public TV broadcaster BNT reported on Friday.

A senior Turkish Foreign Ministry official has confirmed that Ankara has begun "partially receiving" a fund of 3 billion euros which the EU approved in early February for Turkey to improve living conditions for refugees in exchange for Ankara ensuring fewer of them migrate to Europe. 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned March 10 that closing the route used by migrants through the western Balkans "does not resolve the problem" and that Greek cannot shoulder the weight of the refugee burden if the European Union and Turkey cannot strike of deal. 

"That's why I am seeking a real European solution, that is, a solution for all 28 [EU members]," she said.

Bulgaria is anticipating a possible increase of migratory pressure on Bulgaria as a result of EU effort to "close down" the Balkans route for migrants, Interior Minister Rumyana Bachvarova has said.

Serbia announced on Tuesday that the so-called Balkans route used by migrants to reach western Europe will be de-facto closed following Slovenia's decision to deny entry into the EU's free-travel Schengen zone to migrants without valid visas and passports, Tanjug reported.

Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov writes that his country is "feeling the full force of the migrant crisis," and "defending the EU from itself."

Greece faces a new danger in accordance with the ‘ Back to Schengen’ roadmap presented by European Commission which includes concrete steps needed to return order to the management of the EU’s external and internal borders.