Curbing illegal migration, terrorism and extremism cannot be regarded as the duty of certain countries, it is a common goal and joint steps need to be taken – Hungarian, Serbian and Austrian Ministers of Interior said at a joint press conference in Belgrade, following a trilateral meeting.

Hungarian Minister of Interior Sándor Pintér and his Serbian counterpart Nebojsa Stefanovic signed an agreement that – according to Minister Pintér – provides opportunity to act quicker and more precisely in connection with illegal migration.

We agreed upon theoretical principles, Minister Pintér said and added that the practical implementation will be carried out by the chiefs of police. The agreement allows Hungary to return all illegal immigrants in a more effective and cost-efficient way to their country of origin.

Serbian Minister of Interior Nebojsa Stefanovic said that the number of illegal immigrants had dropped significantly thanks to cooperation between the Serbian, Hungarian, Austrian and German police forces, the installation of infrared cameras and tightened border controls. Whereas their number was recently several hundred per day, it has dropped to just five, he said.

Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner noted a major increase in the number of asylum seekers arriving to Austria over the past months. She said one reason for his was that human traffickers gave them high hopes by providing false information about the asylum procedure. Austria has arranged for immigrants who were denied asylum to be transported by air to their home countries every two weeks, she added.

(Ministry of Interior)