Commissioner: Migrants should be offered to settle in Serbia

Commissioner: Migrants should be offered to settle in Serbia

Jankovic was earlier this week in Presevo, that has a reception center for migrants arriving to Serbia via Greece and Macedonia.

"The stance of citizens is unchanged, it is tolerant and they understand the suffering of those people. They are trying to help as much as they can. The position of the state is considerably better, everyone is very well organized, from the Commissariat for Refugees, via the Red Cross, to the army and the police. Everyone is doing their job and each link is working well," said she.

Refugees, on the other hand, "have no objections, but are scared for their future and in general about everything that is happening to them."

According to Jankovic, "that causes certain problems, misunderstandings and ambiguity" when it comes to the procedure of issuing of documents, while there is also "the language barrier - despite the stories that most refugees are highly educated, a majority does not speak English." According to her the number of interpreters is "not sufficient."

"The health care system is organized pretty well, but the state must be ready for the coming days. The most urgent thing is to build the reception center in Belgrade, and although European officials are saying a unique EU system is needed we should not wait for the EU. Better quality migrations management is needed in Serbia," Jankovic stressed.

She then pointed out that there was "another possibility" to solve the refugee problem, and explained:

"It should be considered, an option should be offered that these people stay in the parts of Serbia that are empty. A selection should he done there, detailed security assessments, although nobody wants to stay in Serbia in this phase - perhaps this will change in some new phase."

Jankovic also "stressed the role" of media and civil servants:

"After the appeals we made some ten days ago, media reacted and has been reporting in line with the code of journalism. Officials in particular should not cause upset with their statements, they should know how significant their words are."

Commenting on announcements that right-wing organizations plan to hold protest gatherings against refugees, Jankovic said that "authorities should react in line with the law" and "assess if values that would be promoted" are in line with the law and the Constitution.