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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Migrant crisis challenge for entire Europe

Belgrade/Banja Luka, 16 June 2016

First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic said today that the migrant crisis is one of the most serious challenges that the region and the whole of Europe are facing, and stressed the readiness of our country to support any viable initiative to solve it.

Speaking at the Annual meeting of Foreign Ministers of Member States of the Central-European Initiative (CEI) in Banja Luka, Dacic recalled that in 2015 Serbia registered and temporarily accepted 600,000 immigrants, and about 100,000 since the beginning of this year.

He called for a joint solving of the problem, pointing to the fact that migration flows were reduced and regulated only once it was realised that it is a common problem.

The Minister stressed that the process of European integration and full membership in the European Union is one of the most important foreign policy priorities of the Republic of Serbia.

In that sense, he highlighted the importance of preserving the constant dynamics of negotiation process with the EU.

Serbia has met all transitional criteria for chapters 23 and 24 and it rightfully expects their opening during the Dutch presidency, Dacic said and highlighted the importance and role of the Central European Initiative, which provides a bridge between the macro-region, EU member states and those that aspire to become that, and a bridge between the parts of Europe that have different names but belong to a single European culture.

What makes CEI different from other regional initiatives is its project orientation, he said.

The potential of our common space is also identified in the mechanism China-CIEZ. This mechanism linking a part of Europe with China shows in practice how geographically distant parts of the world can be brought closer by interest in joint projects, Dacic concluded.