Johansson and Tegeltija on Migrants: Everyone Should Bear Their Share of the Burden in This Country

(Patria) - Chairman of the Council of Ministers Zoran Tegeltija stated that Bosnia and Herzegovina is ready to be a partner in managing the migrant crisis, but does not want and cannot be its hostage, nor to accept the situation of so-called sleepers among the migrant ranks.

“The position from Bosnia and Herzegovina is that BiH bears an excessive burden of the migrant crisis given its size and population, and that there is a larger number of migrants on the territory of BiH than BiH can accept given its size. The key things for solving the migration problem are border controls, readmission of those who do not meet the conditions to obtain international protection, but have the right to humanitarian aid. It is not possible for BiH alone to ensure protection by securing its borders, but other countries should also provide border protection before migrants appear at the BiH border. The readmission process should be accelerated, simplified, and all people who do not meet the conditions should be returned to the countries they came from,” Tegeltija emphasized after a meeting with EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson.

According to his words, during the meeting, which was also attended by Deputy Chairmen of the Council of Ministers Vjekoslav Bevanda and Bisera Turković, a high degree of agreement was reached regarding the migrant crisis in BiH.

Tegeltija said that the new migration management plan is currently being harmonized in the EU. "Migrations should be managed by states, not by those who abuse the position of persons on the move," Tegeltija believes.

Johansson emphasized that the European Union, as a close partner of BiH, remains committed to its European path of accession, that they cannot but highlight the significant progress made on that path, and, as Johansson said, welcomes steps towards adopting legislation concerning public procurement, but that at today's meeting they focused mostly on migration issues.

“I presented the new pact on migration and asylum, which is new in the EU and should mark a new beginning in this area. Agreement of all member states on the new principle is awaited, and it has several elements, one being that migrations have always been present, are currently here, and will be in the future, and it is necessary to manage them adequately,” Johansson stated.

She also said that migration flows have changed significantly.

“In 2015, over two million refugees from Syria arrived in the EU as a result of the crisis situation in that area, and today the structure of migrants has changed. We have a smaller number of regular arrivals, and they mostly come from other countries and are largely not all refugees. One of my proposals is that migrants, i.e., persons coming from countries with a low rate of asylum approval, be treated already at the borders so that they undergo the asylum approval process through so-called border procedures. We need to have a clear distinction between those who meet the conditions to stay and those who will not receive a positive decision, and such people need to be enabled to return to their countries of origin as quickly as possible,” she emphasized.

“The EU remains a strong and reliable partner of BiH in strengthening capacities for migration management, and this country has a duty to respond to the demands of migration, and it is important to strengthen the capacity of institutions for migration management. Everyone should bear their share of the burden in this country when it comes to migrations,” underscored the European Union Commissioner for Home Affairs, as reported by N1.