Victor Orban | Photo: Lieven Creemers; European Union, 2015; EC – Audiovisual Service

Hungarian Prime Minister Orban arrives in Sofia on Thursday for a two-day visit, which was not announced in advance, to discuss the state of the EU’s external borders.

Yavor Siderov, adviser to Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister Meglena Kuneva, said Orban and Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov would “discuss the refugee crisis and the [passport-free] Schengen [zone]”.

The Hungarian Prime Minister is well known for his hardline opposition to the German policy of letting in large numbers of refugees.

His government was initially criticized for erecting a barbed-wired fence along Hungary’s southern border to curb migration from the Balkans.

Hungary is also among the Central European countries that oppose the European Commission’s quota system for relocation of asylum seekers.

Bulgaria is one of the few new EU members states that accepted the quota system and was trying to fulfill agreements made at EU level to manage the crisis.

However, since the beginning of 2016, Bulgaria’s position on the migration crisis has toughened, which explains the warming of relations with Hungary.

In a speech to parliament on 13 January, Borissov said the EU’s external borders should be shut immediately against new migrants and asylum seekers.

Orban’s visit comes just a week after his Foreign Minister, Peter Szijjarto, met his Bulgarian colleague, Daniel Mitov, in Sofia and reaffirmed Hungary’s support for Bulgaria’s bid to joint the Schengen area.

Szijjarto said Bulgaria had done more than many Schengen member states in guarding the external borders of the EU.

Bulgaria’s Schengen bid has been on hold as some EU member states want to see more evidence of reforms before it joins the no-border zone.

During a meeting with the Slovenian Prime Minister, Miro Cerar, on January 23, Orban suggested that a fence should be built along the Greek borders with Macedonia and Bulgaria.

“If we are unable to protect the external borders of the European Union, however costly and arduous that effort may be, we ourselves will destroy the Schengen system,” Orban said.

“Hungary supports Bulgaria’s entry into Schengen and Orban will not miss the opportunity to declare his support publicly,” Louisa Slavkova, Programme Manager in the European Council for Foreign Relations, told BIRN.

She added that the visits of the Hungarian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister to Bulgaria are proof that the countries are closening relations.