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Hungary, Serbia to increase joint patrols along border

Xinhua, February 20, 2016 Adjust font size:

Hungarian Interior Minister Sandor Pinter and his Serbian counterpart Nebojsa Stefanovic discussed how to jointly handle illegal migration at a meeting on Friday in the Hungarian-Serbian border town of Roszke, about 180 km SE of Budapest, Hungarian News Agency MTI reported.

Addressing a news conference, they called illegal migration the top problem of the forthcoming period. Pinter said that Austria's decision to limit the number of refugees it would admit each day would make things tougher for both Hungary and Serbia, so both of them had to work harder to protect their borders.

On Hungary's part, protecting its borders required it to work together with Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, and Austria, all of which share borders with Hungary, Pinter noted.

The most direct route from the south leads through Serbia and into Hungary, so the two officials have agreed to increase joint patrols, and work together in other ways, too.

Stefanovic said officials of the two countries would jointly screen arrivals to separate genuine refugees from economic migrants.

Non-European Union member Serbia had to protect its own interests, he said, but it was ready to maintain ongoing coordination with the EU, particularly with Hungary, given the tougher controls on the Austrian border.

He also said that both Serbia and Hungary were discussing how to offer effective policing that would strengthen the border between Greece and Macedonia, along the main northbound refugee route.

The two ministers also discussed the terrorism issue. Stefanovic said that they planned to work together to screen out people suspected of being terrorists. Enditem