SARAJEVO, Feb 20 (NNN-Xinhua) — Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and the European Union (EU) agreed to partner up to improve management of the migration crisis after their officials met to discuss the issue on Friday.
“BiH unjustifiably bears a too heavy burden of the migrant crisis considering the population size and the country’s capacities,” said Zoran Tegeltija, chairman of the Council of Ministers of BiH, at a press conference after the meeting.
“BiH is ready to be the partner in solving the migrant crisis but it is not willing to be a hostage of it,” Tegeltija added.
Around 8,500 migrants and asylum-seekers are currently in BiH and they are bound for the EU. The majority of them are accommodated around the cities of Sarajevo, Tuzla, and Bihac, said the Ministry of Security of BiH.
“The EU is a strong and reliable partner to BiH in developing infrastructure to better manage the migrant crisis,” said European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson.
Since 2018, the EU has earmarked more than 88 million euros (about 106.6 million U.S. dollars) to help BiH solve its migrant crisis and strengthen its capacity to manage migrations, according to Josep Borrell Fontelles, the EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy.
“We need to work together to manage migrations in a good way,” said Johansson, noting that the EU and BiH also need better cooperation in addressing cross-border security issues.
The commissioner said that the recently adopted agreement between BiH and EUROPOL, the EU’s law enforcement agency, has enabled closer police cooperation. — NNN-XINHUA
