Deputy Head of EU Delegation to Serbia Oskar Benedikt said today in Presevo that European Union planned on assisting Serbia with €150,000 aimed at taking care of refugees.
Following his visit to Refugee Reception Centre in Presevo, Benedikt told press that this humanitarian aid – food and hygienic – will be delivered through Serbian Red Cross society.
According to him, this should be enough for the next three months when additional flow of 70,000 refugees is expected.
Additional €240,000 is allocated to help Serbia to cope with refugee flow. This aid will be realised through European Progress programme, Benedikt said.
He called on Serbian Government to secure adequate living conditions to refugees for the upcoming cold weather.
Benedikt said that Reception Centre in Presevo had received 21,000 refugees last month, and that it was expected that Serbia would make gateway for some 70,000 refugees in the coming period.
The fact that Germany alone has accepted 750,000 refugees speaks for itself and proves that this is a problem to us all, Benedikt said and added that European Union countries were surprised by the number of refugees hailing from the war-torn region.
Benedikt added that Brussels had already allocated €150,000 as a sort of emergency assistance aimed at admission of refugees in Serbia.
When asked to explain what taking of refugees in Serbia really meant and whether it meant that they would receive assistance to cross Serbian territory or stay a while longer in Serbia, Benedikt answered: “If you asked refugees, each one of them would say that their final goal is to reach one of the EU countries.”
He reiterated that there was no mention of constructing a large refugee centre in Serbia and added that those rumours were merely speculations.
Benedikt pointed to importance of operative cooperation between Serbian Government and local authorities in taking care of refugees and added that EU would assist Presevo in receiving refugees.
He stressed that the problem did not concern Serbia alone, but caused great concern in EU countries as well, saying that the EU saw 167,000 refugees on its borders over the course of July.
Today marks World Humanitarian Day. Along with its Members, the EU makes up for the largest donor of humanitarian aid in the world. For more information, please visit http://ec.europa.eu/echo/index_en.htm
