"State budget cannot sustain further inflow of migrants"

"State budget cannot sustain further inflow of migrants"

Vucic said that around 1,000 people enter Serbia near Presevo every day.

He noted that the migrants arrive via an EU member state -Greece - “which is not doing its job adequately, and then Macedonia lets them through to Serbia”.

Vucic criticized the EU's current policy towards migrants as insufficiently responsible and serious.

"EU is already providing support to Serbia in terms of joint controls, thermal imaging cameras, computers, medications and other necessities, but that is not enough,” said Vucic.

"The reception of refugees has so far cost Serbia around 15,000 EUR a day and the expenses will rise with the increased inflow. The state budget will not be able to sustain the costs, and we will need stronger support from the EU,” the prime minister said.

Vucic underlined that the wave of migrants does not affect the overall security situation in Serbia. "The migrants do not come here to cause incidents, they fled misfortune and war in search of a better life, not trouble,” he said.

For that reason they deserve respect, as despite struggling to survive in very difficult conditions, the number of incidents is almost negligible, stressed Vucic.

Meeting with mayor

Aleksandar Vucic visited Presevo and Bujanovac and conferred with the municipal leadership concerning the problems in these municipalities where ethnic Albanians constitute majority population.

Presevo Mayor Ragmi Mustafa presented Vucic with a note of acknowledgment as the first prime minister to officially visit the municipality.

After the talks, Mustafa told reporters that his talks with the prime minister covered the problem of economic growth, primarily in the industrial zone development in which the state has already invested funds through the Ministry of Economy.

We also discussed the constitution of the court and the prosecutor's office in Bujanovac and Presevo, problems in the healthcare center and shortage of textbooks in Albanian, Mustafa said.

After the talks, Vucic visited the outpatient maternity clinic in Presevo which has been refurbished after 27 years and which will be able to perform 500 deliveries annually.

The Serbian government invested RSD 115 million and EUR 250,000 in the reconstruction of the maternity clinic, while Albania donated EUR 50,000.

Vucic then visited the center for reception of migrants and then conferred with Serb representatives in Bujanovac where he visited a local soup kitchen.

"Merciless"

Serbia's resistance and fight against terrorism will be " absolutely merciless," Aleksandar Vucic stated on Wednesday.

The Serbian government is implementing all possible measures in order to protect the country, Vucic said during his visit to Presevo and Bujanovac.

"We are seriously preparing for the fight against terrorism," Vucic told reporters and added that the country's resistance and fight will be "absolutely merciless."

Some media in Serbia reported that an Islamic terrorist posted a message on the internet on July 10 "calling on all Muslim terrorists to create a caliphate in the Balkans through bloodshed and clashes," Tanjug reported.

The message lists Serbia as the first target, or the center of the Balkans which needs to be conquered, after which the terrorists intend to carry out terrorist actions "in Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Albania and Macedonia."