Serbia Active in Looking for Migrant Crisis Resolution, Interior Minister Says in Budapest

Ivica Dacic (BetaPhoto/Serbian Ministry of Interior)

Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic in Budapest on Nov. 12 said that Serbia had been active in a shared goal of finding a solution to the migrant crisis, which could be resolved only with a European solution.

“Migrations have hardly ever been a national problem, but they almost always require intense and efficient cross-border and international cooperation,” Dacic told the Ministerial Conference of the Budapest Process. He also said that a joint ministerial declaration and accompanying call for action represented a legal framework required for border management and were a result of joint work of the participating states of the Budapest Process.

Dacic stressed that developing a strategy for creating a safer migratory route and establishing an efficient return system of foreign nationals not meeting, or no longer meeting the criteria for legal stay in Serbia’s territory was among the Interior Ministry’s priorities, according to a release from his Ministry.  

Dacic also said that his Ministry would continue to work with global partners and further develop cooperation with the countries of origin and transit for to analyze what had been causing migrations. Dacic stressed that Serbia would continue to protect human rights of migrants and refugees and would try to take as adequate as possible measures to prevent all forms of discrimination.  

He also said that in 2024 illegal crossings had dropped by 70 percent year-on-year.