News in English     | 19.11.2019. 15:33 |

German delegation: Migrant crisis is an issue for the entire BiH

FENA Hana Imamović

SARAJEVO, November 19 (FENA) - The issue of increased influx of migrants to Bosnia and Herzegovina is a state-level issue, and it is by no means in the interest of any of the entities to escalate the situation with migrant inflow, former Federal Minister and Member of the Western Balkans Commission at the Bundestag, Christian Schmidt, said in Sarajevo today, as he is leading a delegation from Germany that met with BiH officials responsible for dealing with the migrant situation in BiH.

He noted that for Germany, BiH is a country on the path to EU membership, and is seeking a path to NATO membership, which is why he believes BiH has the right to use Europe's shared experiences to contribute to solving this problem.

They discussed with the members of the BiH Presidency and the Council of Ministers Chairman Denis Zvizdić and Minister for Human Rights and Refugees Semiha Borovac the situation in BiH and shared their ideas for resolving the issue of increased influx of migrants.

Germany is ready to support BiH, but Schmidt stresses that a solution is being sought for migrants passing through BiH in a way to reduce their numbers and that those who come here are treated in a humane manner.

He expressed hope that the positions within the BiH Presidency would be aligned soon, especially when it comes to cooperation with the European Union and FRONTEX, and that an agreement is awaited so that BiH could receive the needed support, and he specifically said that they wait for the BiH Presidency member Milorad Dodik to unblock this process.

“We strongly stand with BiH as a country on the path to EU accession, but we ask those responsible to cooperate and harmonize their positions. We have offered financial and personnel assistance, but we are waiting for a concrete list of needs from BiH,” Schmidt emphasized.

Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Minister for the Interior of Germany Stephan Mayer, who was also part of the delegation from Germany, said that BiH and the EU are part of the same community that shares the same fate especially when it comes to this situation.

“BiH is not a place where the migrant crisis can end, but on the other hand, we think that the responsibility lies with the politicians. We want to hold constructive talks and trust-based cooperation to create humane conditions for migrants in the country and to help combat illegal migration,” Mayer said.

Members of the German delegation say they are delighted to see at these meetings that there is an intention to close the Vučjak camp near Bihać and that the authorities plan to find other locations, but they ask for a fair and solidarity approach in terms of accommodation capacities and for this burden to be equally shared across the country.

They announced that they would not leave BiH alone to deal with this crisis of epic proportions, as they called it, and added that during the working meetings they offered concrete assistance from German civil protection service, which could be helpful with providing new, alternative accommodation locations.

Former High Representative to BiH Christian Schwarz-Schilling, who was also part of this delegation, confirmed that the relationship between Germany and BiH was always special because that country has always stood by BiH and the Western Balkans, assessing that BiH's path to the EU should go faster than is the case now.

He expressed hope that the situation regarding migrant crisis would contribute to greater communion in BiH, thinking of both entities in order to strengthen the relations, since it is not possible to resolve this crisis without the state-level authorities.

As concluded, members of the delegation hope that property relations would not be an obstacle to opening new reception camps so that Germany could provide concrete assistance.

(FENA) S. R.

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