Bulgaria and Ukraine issued diplomatic protests over remarks by Emmanuel Macron about migrants coming to France from those countries.
In an interview published Thursday in conservative weekly magazine Valeurs Actuelles the French president said: "I would rather have people who come from Guinea or Côte d'Ivoire legally, who are there and who do this work, than Bulgarian or Ukrainian clandestine networks."
He also seemed to criticize the EU's posted workers scheme, under which employers send temporary workers to other member countries. "I prefer to have legal migration, registered, under a quota, for x years, rather than hidden posted work," he said.
Sofia summoned the country's French ambassador to the Foreign Ministry next week, the Sofia Globe reported, adding that Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva ordered the country’s ambassador in Paris, Angel Cholakov, to deliver a protest note to the French government.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry on Friday also summoned the French ambassador in Kyiv to explain Macron’s comments.
Following the meeting, a spokesperson for Ukraine's foreign ministry said Macron's comments had been taken out of context.
"The parties confirmed that there is a complete understanding between Kyiv and Paris and cooperation in implementing agreements on the movement of citizens of both countries," the spokeperson said.
