The Head of the EU Delegation to Bosnia and Herzegovina Lars-Gunnar Wigemark said that the EU is monitoring the development of the migrant crisis in Bosnia and invited the local authorities to adopt a coordinated approach and to clearly set their priorities. He added that the EU offered assistance to Serbia, Macedonia and Turkey.

“We encourage the authorities to adopt a coordinated approach. The crisis group has already been established and we encourage the authorities to activate the group. If we are to provide some sort of help, we want to see responsibility and a clear policy,” Wigemark said.

The EU has previously offered assistance for the construction of the Immigration Centre in Bosnia worth EUR 1.2 million, Wigemark added and clarified that they previously worked on the capacity building for the housing of migrants during the migrant crisis when the migrant routes bypassed Bosnia.

He confirmed that in case there is an escalation of the migrant crisis, the EU will have to consider some other measures. The EU supports the work of the UN, the UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration, all of which are active in Bosnia.

“We are ready to provide help, but we must know your needs. This crisis has multiple aspects, the humanitarian, the legal and, of course, the security aspect,” Wigemark concluded.

According to him, the most important thing is to have a coordinated approach to this issue and to use the EU’s experiences in this field.