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SARAJEVO, January 21 (FENA) - Members of the Joint Committee on Defense and Security of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiHPA) visited today the Ministry of Security of BiH where they were informed about security challenges and threats that BiH is facing, focusing on various aspects of the migration crisis.
“The BiH PA Joint Committee on Defense and Security received today from members of the BiH Ministry of Security an overview of the most important activities in the work of this ministry to address security challenges, risks and threats to BiH, and the focus of this report is related to the migrant crisis,” Selmo Cikotić said.
He added that part of the report addressed the fight against terrorism, human trafficking and other security threats, including the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic, and the coordination of police agencies and co-operation with countries in the region and international organizations, as well as projections of numerous activities.
In the context of migration management, Cikotić emphasized the importance of adopting an Action Plan and establishing coordination of all state structures in that field.
Commenting on the spending of the European Union funds in the segment of the migrant crisis, he reminded that this is in principle carried out through the mechanisms of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
When asked by journalists about the mentioned EU funds for managing the migrant crisis, Cikotić stated that about 89 million euros have been set aside for that purpose since 2018 and that none of that money has been implemented through BiH institutions.
Part of that money, he said, goes to law enforcement agencies involved in migration management and certain local communities.
Chairman of the BiH PA Joint Committee on Defense and Security, Asim Sarajlić, expressed his satisfaction with the quality exchange of information, which, as he stated, ensures the capacity to make the best possible decisions.
The first deputy chair of the Joint Committee, Dušanka Majkić, said that since 2015, this Committee has been trying to find essential answers, i.e. a complete plan of measures to respond to the migrant crisis.
“We have things that are known to us, but we lack a lot of answers,” said Majkić, wondering "who are the migrants, are they refugees or economic migrants", and how is it possible that the state does not do enough to return them to their countries of origin.
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