Bulgaria could have its 2027 payment to the EU solidarity pool deducted in full or in part if it asks the Council of the EU. Migration commissioner Magnus Brunner said so today.

The European Commission places Bulgaria in the group of countries with a "significant migration situation". These are states where migration has had a cumulative effect over the past five years. The Czech Republic, Estonia, Croatia, Austria and Poland are in the same group.

Brunner presented the Commission's second yearly assessment of asylum and migration. It sorts countries into three categories and is part of the second yearly migration management cycle.

The Commission classes Greece, Cyprus, Italy and Spain as countries under migration pressure. This gives them the right to use the Solidarity Pool. It says Greece and Cyprus received a disproportionately high number of migrants over the past year, while many people reached Italy after rescue operations at sea. The decision on Spain rests on the overall migration situation and on the rush into its African enclave of Ceuta on 30 and 31 July.

Another 15 countries are at risk of migration pressure: Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, France, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and Finland.

These countries get priority access to the EU's permanent toolbox for migration support. It includes operational, technical and financial help, as well as aid with returning and reintegrating migrants.