UK Ambassador to Bulgaria Emma Hopkins said on Tuesday the EU needs to jointly manage common borders and apply stricter control as part of a "new Schengen stage".

In an interview with private bTV station, Hopkins opined Europe was facing an unprecedented threat requiring a more efficient control of the bloc's external borders.

She also downplayed concerns voiced by many in Europe over the migrant crisis, putting emphasis on the much bigger burden on Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon, three countries which have already accepted millions of migrants from Syria.

Ambassador Hopkins also warned a distinction should always be made between the terrorism threat and the migrant flow.

In her words, the Islamic State (IS) group could be defeated if European countries joined forces.

Hopkins arrived in Bulgaria in the spring of this year.

She told bTV she enjoyed traveling and was working to learn Bulgarian.