The European Union should finance the construction of migrant centres in the whole of Bosnia and not only in the Una-Sana Canton, the Mayor of Bihac Suhret Fazlic told N1 on Tuesday, commenting on media allegations that the Union plans to allocate €25 million for migrant centres in the country.

“That's good news, but if someone thinks that Bihac will be able to suffer the pressure of migrants again, by situating them in Bira migrant centre, they are grossly mistaken. The only way out and the only solution is to invest in Lipa, and prepare Lipa for the winter,” Fazlic said.

He pointed out that “Lipa is not ready for the winter and if something is not done quickly, there will be a problem not only with migrants who are now in outside that centre, but there will also be a problem with migrants situated in Lipa because there are no conditions for the winter. They will have to spend the winter there.”

It is estimated that the Una-Sana Canton in the north-west of the country, bordering with Croatia which is an EU member state, currently has 3,000 illegal migrants residing outside migrant camps.

Head of EU Delegation in Bosnia Johan Sattler said earlier that Brussels helped Bosnia with €60 million over the past three years in the fight against illegal migration.