Radončić after meeting with Božinović: Migrant crisis is a security, not a humanitarian problem

ZAGREB, (Patria) – BiH Security Minister Fahrudin Radončić held a meeting with Croatian Minister of the Interior Davor Božinović in Zagreb today. They discussed security challenges and the migrant crisis. Radončić said after the meeting that BiH and Croatia share a long border and common problems.

"BiH is facing a difficult problem, we are one of the poorest countries in Europe, the average pension is 200 euros, salary 400 euros, every sixth inhabitant goes to bed hungry, and I think it is completely natural to inform our friends from the EU that the situation of the large migrant crisis should no longer be treated solely as humanitarian," Radončić said, N1 reports.

He pointed out that the largest number of arrivals are from Pakistan, and all of them want to go to the EU. He said that BiH cannot guarantee security conditions to EU member states.

"BiH cannot guarantee EU member states the same security conditions because our border services are at their capacity limits. We have received a large number of migrants who are very difficult to identify."

"Our request is, and we rely on excellent cooperation with Croatia and its understanding of the problem, to start serious lobbying and to understand the migrant crisis as a security issue, not a humanitarian one. 93 percent of the aid we received from EU countries goes to the humanitarian aspect, and only 7 percent to the security aspect. If we want to have a secure EU and all our partners, we expect them to better assess all dimensions of the crisis."

Božinović, in his address, said that they discussed issues of common interest, and "there is nothing more natural than for two neighboring countries not only to meet from time to time but also to cooperate on a daily basis."

"This is something that the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Croatia expect from us, and I am glad that we have gone through all the relevant issues and agreed on certain mechanisms of cooperation whose implementation will follow very soon," stated Božinović.

Minister Božinović confirmed that the largest part of today's meeting was dedicated to the issue of illegal migrations and that the analyses are consistent.

"Of course, we heard some data that are, to say the least, interesting to us, due to the fact that Croatia presides over the Council of Ministers of the EU. There was also a ministerial meeting on security issues, so as an EU member, we are already very active in raising the issue of this route that goes from Greece through BiH, Serbia, Croatia, and then to other EU member states. As the presiding country, we dedicated one of the agenda items to the aspect of the increase in organized crime related to migrant smuggling on our route," stated Božinović, emphasizing that the Croatian police arrested nearly 1,000 smugglers last year.

Regarding assistance for BiH, the Croatian Minister of the Interior emphasized that after today's meeting, he will advocate for funds to be directed towards the concrete needs of security services in strengthening their capacities.

Furthermore, Božinović said that "Radončić asked, and the doors are certainly open, when it comes to BiH's membership in the EU Civil Protection Mechanism."

"This is an issue that we will very quickly put on the agenda, because cooperation when it comes to humanitarian disasters is also one of the areas where cooperation must be constant," he stated.