Bulgaria and the Czech Republic share a common stance on migration and security. The Czech side supports the closedown of the so-called Balkan migration route; it is aware of the challenges that Bulgaria is faced with in protecting the EU outer border under increasing migrant pressure, and supports this country’s accession to Schengen. These messages came in the talks of President Rosen Plevneliev with the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Bohuslav Sobotka during the official visit of the Bulgarian head of state to Prague. It became clear after yesterday’s talks of Rosen Plevneliev with Czech counterpart Milos Zeman that the Czech Republic would provide assistance to Bulgaria for guarding the EU outer border. Prime Minister Sobotka said that the issue of Bulgaria and Romania’s accession to Schengen would gain even greater immediacy, and expressed the firm support of the Czech side for Bulgaria’s accession to the border control free area. The Bulgarian head of state once again said that the migration crisis could only be tackled based on a common European approach in cooperation with the countries in crisis regions. Rosen Plevneliev and Bohuslav Sobotka voiced joint support for the process of European integration of the Western Balkans seen by both leaders as a guarantee of peace and security in the region and across Europe.