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Commissioner Nataša Stanisavljević attended the EMN Board Meeting for the first time after Serbia received observer status

The Commissioner for Refugees and Migration of the Republic of Serbia Nataša Stanisavljević attended the Board Meeting of the European Migration Network for the first time after Serbia received observer status in it. At the meeting, the Commissioner presented the competences of the Commissariat, overview of current migration situation in the Republic of Serbia, the Commissariat's priorities in the coming period as well as the coming activities and readiness to participate in the those carried out by the European Migration Network.

In her opening address, the Commissioner thanked the members of the European Migration Network for inviting Serbia as an observer in the Network as well as commitment to complete all the necessary administrative procedures that made it possible to sign the administrative arrangement between the Commissariat and the European Migration Network. Also, the Commissioner introduced EMN to the history of the Commissariat from its establishment in 1992 to the present day, its competences, challenges we face as well as the plans for the coming period.

“Thank you for the commitment and effort you have shown in the previous period with special gratitude to Slovenia who, as a mentor, led us to the goal which is the signing of the arrangement. Since 2015 Serbia, as a country on the Western Balkan migration route, has been facing continuous migrant pressure mainly from Afghanistan, Syria, Pakistan and the Maghreb countries which is why cooperation and exchange of experiences with members of the European Union is important to us. As observers of the European Migration Network, we established an inter-institutional working group to support the national contact point. The members of the group are representatives of the Department for Affairs with Foreigners, Border Police and the Bureau of Statistics”, said Commissioner Stanisavljević.

Commissioner Nataša Stanisavljević announced that the Commissariat’s proposal for the establishment of a national network is being prepared as well as that a plan is being developed with all relevant institutions. She also informed the representatives of the European Migration Network about the possibility of organizing a conference in Belgrade, which will be an excellent opportunity for the Republic of Serbia.

In March, the Commissariat for Refugees and Migration as the national contact point and the Directorate for Internal Affairs and Migration of the European Commission signed the Administrative Arrangement establishing cooperation between the European Commission and the Commissariat in European Migration Network (EMN) with which Republic of Serbia becomes an observer in the EMN.

The EMN is a network of EU migration and asylum experts who work to provide objective and comparable information and collect and share knowledge relevant to asylum and migration policy. The EMN was established on the basis of the EU Council Decision, which means that all member states are obliged to implement it immediately. The decision stipulates that each member state designates a national contact point (an entity with at least three experts in the field) which together form the EMN. In addition to the EU member states, observers from Norway, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, Armenia and Serbia are also involved in the work of the EMN.