Cucic: Security Not Threatened by Large Number of Migrants

EU Gives EUR100 Million to Serbia Since 2015 Influx of Migrants

Commissioner for Refugees and Migration Vladimir Cucic stated on Jan. 2 that Serbia’s security is not threatened by the presence and passage of a large number of refugees from the Middle Eastern countries.

“According to the 2017 records, of the total number of criminal acts committed in Serbia, less than 0.5 per mille have been committed by the migrants, and most of that they’ve done amongst themselves. They know that Serbia is a hospitable country but that anyone who does something wrong is adequately punished. We are sending a clear message that everyone is welcome as long as they act responsibly,” Cucic told BETA.

He believes that claims that Serbia will become a land of migrants, i.e. a country where the refugees turned down by the Western European courtiers will be returned to, are not true.

“To this day, over 1.5 million migrants have passed through Serbia, and only some 150 of them were granted asylum. Perhaps it would’ve been better had more of them stayed. At the same time, none have been returned from Western European countries they had gone to,” said Cucic, and added that the reason for this is that the migrants seeking asylum are “sucked into the job markets of the developed European countries,” which allows them to permanently settle there.

Cucic also said that Serbia is trying hard to join the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, which is being set up by the EU for the period of next seven years, i.e. that Serbia hopes it will be given access to a part of the funds, as the money the EU allocates for helping the countries on the so-called migration route is currently disproportionately disbursed.

According to Cucic, if Serbia joined the Fund currently accessible only to member states, the care of migrants would be secured in a serious and systematic manner.