Currently, 3,300 migrants are residing in migrant centres across Bosnia, which is more than last year, but there is no migrant crisis in the country because the local police are able to control the situation, BiH Security Minister Nenad Nesic said.

“During the winter period, migrants stay longer in the centres due to difficult conditions for continuing their journey, but we still have sufficient capacity in the centres to accommodate migrants,” he said in an interview with local media, published on Wednesday.

According to data from the Service for Affairs with Foreigners of Bosnia and Herzegovina, slightly more than 30 thousand migrants passed through that country in 2023 on their way to EU member states.

Nesic, however, said that there has been no migrant crisis in BiH in recent years and that the state effectively manages migrant processes, thanks to the good cooperation and coordination between domestic police agencies and authorities and international organizations.

The Minister expects that an agreement with the European Coast and Border Guard Agency (Frontex) will be signed soon, reminding that BiH is currently the only country in the region that does not have such an arrangement, which is essential for controlling illegal migration because it enables the engagement of members of European police agencies in countries outside the Union, for the protection of EU’s external borders.