Will Serbia become "collection center" for refugees?

The European Commission has set new national quotas for refugees, according to which Germany will take in 40,000, and France 30,000 people.

Izvor: B92

Tuesday, 08.09.2015.

12:01

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(Beta/AP, file)

Will Serbia become "collection center" for refugees?

B92 has looked into whether Serbia could become "a collection center" for all Middle Eastern migrants passing through it, and what that would mean for the country.

"Serbia will not become any kind of collection center because that would mean we are a country preventing people in their movement, that would mean determining whether or not they can move on and whether or not they had this or that paper. That something we neither wish to do, or can do," Labor Minister Aleksandar Vulin said.

He added that he "wants migrants to be provided with at least humane conditions while they're here."

However, the situation on the ground shows that is difficult to achieve.

Rados Djurovic from the Asylum Protection Center said: "We are struggling to provide humane conditions and basic rights - but to accommodate long-term this many people from different countries, Serbia cannot withstand that."

The fact remains that Serbia is unable to withstand that magnitude of refugee influx - but what if the EU were to make the setting up of a "collection center" a condition for Serbia?

"I think that would represent international community's blackmail of Serbia, bearing in mind the economic possibilities and the fact there is no end in sight to this movement of peoples," said Zoran Stankovic from the Coordinating Center for South Serbia.

So far this year more than 160,000 refugees passed through Serbia. More than 100,000 have applied for asylum here - but only so they could stay in our country legally, and they usually stay for two to three days before moving on. Only several dozen people said they wish to remain in Serbia.

As of Monday evening, more than 5,000 refugees crossed from Greece to Macedonia within 24 hours. All of them will in the coming days pass through Serbia.

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