Balkan States Vow Joint Action to Tackle Migrant Crisis

Security and human rights ministers from the Balkans and neighbouring countries agreed at a meeting in Sarajevo on Thursday to create a database which will be compatible with similar systems in Europe in order to track migrants.

"We must be able to see if those people [migrants] previously stayed in Europe," Bosnian security minister Dragan Mektic told media after the meeting.  

"We will see if it is possible for us from the Western Balkans to become part of FRONTEX [the European Border and Coast Guard Agency]," he added.

Mektic explained that migrant readmission agreements between countries must be respected and said it was important to strengthen of state services like the border police.

"We also have to think about the joint return of migrants to third countries or countries of origin, so that each state strengthens the border service and the guards," he said.

The meeting was attended by representatives of most countries on the so-called Balkan Route - Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Greece, Austria and Slovenia.

It involved two panels, one dedicated to security and the other to the humanitarian aspects of the crisis.

Bosnian minister of refugees and displaced persons Semiha Borovac told media that Bosnia has managed to respond adequately to the recent influx of migrants entering the country.

"The priority is the creation of accommodation capacity. We have shown that migrants can get all the necessary assistance," Borovac said.

Bostjan Sefic, state secretary at Slovenia's interior ministry, told media that since November 2017, the number of illegal immigrants has been constantly increasing.

"The situation is under control, but it is time for joint activities to ensure that everything is...