SARAJEVO, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Bosnia and Herzegovina's (BiH) Council of Ministers (CoM) on Wednesday adopted measures aiming for "better border control, more effective fight against illegal migration".
At a state-level session, it was agreed that the coordination team will coordinate all activities to cope with the migrant crisis that hit BiH, but that all activities have to be done in accordance with BiH laws on asylum and foreigners.
The BiH Migration Bureau will prepare decisions and activities aimed at further strengthening of BiH borders with Serbia and Montenegro. It will also work on the increase of the number of police officers and on the intensification of actions to suppress migrant smuggling.
It was announced that BiH Minister of Foreign Affairs Igor Crnadak will discuss with his Serbian and Montenegrin counterparts further modalities of strengthening cooperation in the field of migration.
At the meeting, it was stated that BiH Service for Foreigners' Affairs (SPS) registered 8,081 illegal migrants since the beginning of this year until July 5. Out of the total number, 7,424 migrants expressed their intention to apply for asylum and only 686 migrants actually applied.
The European Commission announced the allocation of 6 million euros to help the country in handling the migration crisis. The first step involves the improvement of the identification and registration of migrants and their adequate accommodation, particularly in areas close to Sarajevo and in the Una-Sana Canton, northern BiH, where most migrants reside. The second step involves using the money allocated in continued provision of basic services such as food and health care. The third step concerns the support of BiH Border Police to improve the capacity for border control and surveillance.
Hundreds of thousands of migrants passed through the so-called "Balkan route" in 2015, trying to reach Western Europe. BiH was then not part of that route.
However, migrants turned to BiH in recent months, trying to avoid more heavily-guarded routes and borders in the Balkans.
