Hurtić: BiH cannot cope with the migrant crisis without money

(Patria) - A meeting was held today in Sarajevo between the Minister of Security of BiH Nenad Nešić, the Minister of Human Rights and Refugees of BiH Sevlid Hurtić, and the Head of the EU Delegation to Bosnia and Herzegovina Johann Sattler, discussing the transition plan and migration management.

The Minister of Human Rights and Refugees of BiH, Sevlid Hurtić, stated at a press conference that the Ministry planned to request 500,000 KM in budget funds for humanitarian aid to migrants arriving in BiH.

"We are all ready to try to increase the budget for resolving the migrant crisis. The second issue, which is rarely discussed, is the arrival of legal migrants to BiH. Our employers have big problems. This is not being talked about. We have about 4,000 permits for people coming to BiH to work from abroad, from India, Nepal, Pakistan, or some other country. They work for employers here for some time and then, during the night, they move on across the Sava or Izačić. This is a burning issue for our employers. The employers are not to blame. They respect BiH laws, they bring people in, but BiH needs to sign agreements with the countries from which people are coming to work here," said Hurtić.

Minister Nešić emphasized that the most important thing is the security of BiH citizens, and that migrants coming to BiH actually want to go to the EU.

"We told Sattler that BiH is ready to join the transition process, to take on the obligations given by international organizations, but that it is necessary for them to be present and help us with finances. We informed him that the migrant crisis is not a problem for BiH but for the entire EU, that BiH is collateral damage of the migrant crisis, because migrants come to us because they want to go to the EU," said Nešić.