“Serbia is a key partner of the European Union in managing the refugee crisis, a global crisis that knows no borders,” European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management said, announcing additional EUR4 million in EU emergency assistance for Serbia.

Following his meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, he said that the EU appreciated Serbian Government and its people’s support in dealing with the refugee crisis, their hospitality and efforts made to help refugees.

Stylianides said the EU was committed to tackling the issues of refugees from the Middle East and added that, unfortunately, there was no humanitarian solution to that problem, only a political one that should be found in countries they were fleeing from.

As he put it, “the EU highly appreciates the efforts made by Serbia to help the refugees and not only the efforts of the Government, but its citizens in particular, who have proven to be generous and empathic as they had found themselves in similar situations before.”

Vucic: We owe a debt of gratitude to the EU for EUR80 million it has provided to support Serbia in dealing with refugee issues

President Vucic said that the European official and he agreed that Serbia had been tackling the issues of refugees, all 3,587 of them registered in reception centres, in a proper manner.

“However, there is more work to be done,” he said and added that Serbia owed a debt of gratitude to the EU for EUR80 million it had provided to support it in dealing with refugee issues.

They also talked about the possibility of facing another wave of refugees. He told the Commissioner that Serbia was adequately equipped to face such a challenge.

Vucic also said that they also discussed Serbia’s EU path and that he hoped the country could fulfil the tasks it had taken upon itself, adding that the issue of Kosovo, a grave problem for the EU, remained unresolved.

Stylianides said that the country should focus on stepping up the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, where EU’s assistance was needed in order to make progress.

Stylianides: EUR4 million in assistance aimed at education of migrant children

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During their meeting, Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic briefed Commissioner Stylianides on modalities of dealing with the migrant crisis.

A statement released from Prime Minister’s Cabinet quotes Brnabic saying that she is extremely happy with the way Serbia has been dealing with migrant crisis, adding that inclusion of children migrants in primary education system has significantly contributed to improving the overall refugee situation.

Commissioner Stylianides said that he saw for himself that Serbia was a reliable partner and announced humanitarian assistance to the tune of EUR4 million, aimed primarily at education of migrant children in order to help them acquire professional education and start living normal lives as soon as possible.

He added that Serbia was an important partner of the European Union with a clear European perspective, the statement reads.

Emergency response capacity of the Serbian police improves thanks to the EU

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Thanks to joint work of the police and the prosecutor’s office, 38 persons were sentenced to a total of 56 years in prison, Minister of Interior Nebojsa Stefanovic told European Commissioner Stylianides.

Minister Stefanovic briefed Stylianides about all aspects of migrant crisis management, particularly the efforts made by Serbian Ministry of Interior to prevent smuggling and illegal crossing of the state border, reads the statement released by the Minister’s Cabinet.

Stefanovic thanked the European Commission for a donation of EUR1.7 million for the project “Special measures 1,” aimed at strengthening the capacity of the Ministry of Interior to respond to emergencies and increased migration flows in the country.

Each time I visited Serbia I saw for myself that EU funds have been properly utilised, that the capacity necessary for crisis management has been strengthened, that migrants were taken care of, their human rights observed, and that the Serbian police treated them in a humane way.

He said he expected the Republic of Serbia to be the first candidate country to become a full-fledged member of the European Union, taking into account the results achieved and efforts it had been making, said the statement from the Ministry of Interior.

Stylianides: EU the largest donor of emergency assistance in Serbia since 2015

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European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides also met with the First Deputy Prime Minister Ivica Dacic. A statement from the Government reads that Minister Dacic expressed his gratitude to the European Union for its support, as well as for Commissioner’s personal commitment to help Serbia, recalling that the migrant crisis was a common issue. He added that, having the nature of the issue in mind, he hoped the EU would continue to support Serbia.

According to the statement, Commissioner Stylianides said that he would visit Serbia again to express his support and announce additional EU assistance. He noted that the EU had been the largest donor of emergency assistance in Serbia since 2015. Stylianides concluded that Serbia undoubtedly had a European perspective and was part of Europe, adding that the European Union and Serbia shared a common future, reads a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Commissioner Stylianides also met with the Working Group on Migration, chaired by Minister of Defence Aleksandar Vulin. The meeting was also participated in by Jadranka Joksimovic Minister of European Integration and Zoran Djordjevic Minister of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs, in their capacity as Working Group members. Minister Vulin once again thanked European Commissioner Stylianides for assistance and support in dealing with the migrant crisis extended by Commissioner personally and the European Commission, reads a statement released by the Ministry of Defence.