Meeting in Zvornik: Involve Frontex in resolving the migrant crisis

ZVORNIK, (Patria) - At the Karakaj International Border Crossing in Zvornik, at the headquarters of the Zvornik Border Police Unit, the Director of the BiH Border Police Zoran Galić, the BiH Minister of Security Selmo Cikotić, and the Commander of EUFOR in BiH Major General Reinhard Trischak met today.

The meeting was also attended by Deputy Director Fahrudin Halač, Assistant Director for Organization and Operations Dragan Kulić, Deputy Minister of Security Nedeljko Jović, Commander of the Zvornik Border Police Unit Muamer Fazlagić, and Head of the Eastern Regional Office Senad Lizde.

The meeting discussed the migrant crisis and the measures being taken by the BiH Border Police to prevent illegal border crossings. Since the very beginning of the migrant crisis, Zvornik has been the most exposed to the pressure of migrants, who try to illegally cross the state border from the direction of Serbia every day. Galić stated that the BiH Border Police is exhausting its existing material-technical and human resources, and that cooperation at all levels of government is necessary to more effectively control the state border.

"Given the lack of capacity, the Border Police is reallocating existing resources to parts of the state border where the migratory pressure is greatest. We need cooperation from all levels of government, as well as international organizations, and if the state cannot provide certain resources, it would be good to go through Frontex, which offers various opportunities and training for our police officers, which would certainly make us more functional and better prepared to respond to the migration issue," said Galić.

BiH Minister of Security Selmo Cikotić expressed support for the Border Police and the importance of improving cooperation, primarily to strengthen the human resources of the BiH Border Police, which bears the greatest burden of the migrant crisis.