Deputy Head of EU Delegation to Serbia Oskar Benedikt said that Readmission Agreement foresees making those illegally residing in EU countries return to their countries of origin, although, most probably, these provisions would not apply to Syrian refugees.
When Tanjug Agency asked him to comment on European Commission Spokesperson Natasha Bertaud stating that EU countries had a right to return refugees to Serbia, Benedikt said: “I would say that Commission has already made this clear. First of all, this is about Agreement on Readmission which Serbia has already signed. This, however, probably will not apply to Syrian refugees given their right to seek protection in EU countries.”
Benedikt added that the said provisions applied to those illegally residing in EU countries who could be returned to countries from which they came from. “This is foreseen by Agreement on Readmission and does not apply to those in need of protection so I would not be worried about it,” he said.
Asked to comment on Croatia’s decision to close its borders with Serbia for freight traffic, Benedikt said that closing borders, erecting fences and barriers would not solve the problem.
“This has been reiterated many times, European Commission is in close contact with Croatian officials and we hope a good solution would be found so that traffic would be normalised without kilometres-long line of trucks,” Benedikt said.
