The Minister of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Nenad Nešić, is participating in the International Conference of the Global Alliance to Combat Migrant Smuggling, organized by the European Commission, in Brussels.
The conference chaired by EU Commissioner for Internal Affairs Ilva Johansson was opened by EC President Ursula von der Leyen.
Along with EU commissioners, representatives of the European security agencies EUROPOL and FRONTEX, the ministers of interior affairs of the 20 countries most affected by migration flows discussed the prevention and response to migrant smuggling.
Nešić pointed out that Europe must have long-term, strategic and, above all, honest and feasible answers to the challenges posed by migration.
“The alternative to irregular migration and deterrence cannot be turning the Western Balkans into a buffer zone. In the long term, the alternative to irregular migration must be a single European response. We must jointly invest our capacities in stopping migration at its source. Strategically, the European Union should tell us from the Western Balkans – yes, you have the certainty of becoming EU members by 2030. In this way, our states, police agencies and citizens will be even more motivated to defend the security of the common European space”, said Nešić.
Presenting the state of migration in BiH, Minister Nešić said that it is still complex, given the increasingly pronounced change in the route of movement through BiH. An increase in migration pressure compared to the same period last year by 27.24 percent was recorded.
In order to adequately respond to migration pressure, the Border Police of BiH increases the presence of police officers for monitoring the state border. At the same time, operational actions were carried out with the aim of preventing smuggling of migrants and human trafficking.
In addition to activities aimed at identifying and prosecuting individuals and groups involved in people smuggling, great attention is also focused on identifying and preventing groups and individuals that could be linked to extremism and radicalism, Nešić emphasized.
During his visit to Brussels, Nešić met with Olivier Onidi, Deputy Director General of the Directorate General for Internal Affairs in the European Commission. On the sidelines of the conference, a meeting was held between Nešić and the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Croatia, Davor Božinović, and he also spoke with the Ministers of Internal Affairs of North Macedonia, Oliver Spasovski, Montenegro, Danilo Saranović, and Albania, Taulant Bala.
