BELGRADE – Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn said in Belgrade on Friday that migrant readmission should not be discussed within Europe.
Hahn made the statement in response to journalists’ questions as to whether the EU would return refugees and migrants from Near East and Africa to Serbia based on readmission agreements.
The migrant crisis is a global problem and it can be solved only through joint engagement of all European countries, Hahn said.
This is why readmission should not be discussed within Europe and the focus of attention should instead rest on the manner to handle the problem in the European spirit, Hahn said.
After Hahn’s statement, Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said that all conspiracy theories about return of refugees to Serbia have now fallen through.
Vucic once more underscored that Serbia will do all to help refugees and share the burden of the refugee crisis with the EU although it is not a EU member yet.
He noted that he previously stressed on several occasions that Serbia is ready to take over its share of obligations and accept the quota the EU set with regard to refugee distribution, but the idea was not met with support.
Serbia will not try to dodge its responsibilities in the future either, Vucic said and added that the country believes it is a part of the European society and wants to share the difficult moments with the Union too.