About Sector
Migration management is a central field for which the EU has been providing significant support to Serbia. The EU has been contributing with resources and funds to Serbia in the field of migration management with an aim of having a long-lasting effect in view of the EU accession process, with a particular emphasis on strengthening the asylum and migration management system as well as enhancing border management.
What does EU support to migration management encompass?
It starts with the provision of access to reception and protection services for migrants with strong regard for the identification of vulnerable groups such as unaccompanied and separated children. We strive to fulfilling the necessary conditions for efficient care at reception and asylum centres, among others by providing food and non-food items such as clothes and hygienic kits.
In reception and asylum centres, access to services such as healthcare and education system is ensured as well. For instance, migrants undergo health screening by a medical team when they enter reception and asylum centres and are further referred to health care institutions if necessary.
On the side of education, the EU has been continuously supporting Serbian institutions to enable uninterrupted access to education for migrant children since 2015 through assistance to formal and non-formal education. Children and local schools benefitted from assistance by creating an adequate environment for learning and the inclusion of migrant children into the local context.
It should also be mentioned that the EU supports Serbia in its efforts to protect its borders and combat migrant smuggling as well as in strengthening the capacity of institutions responsible for migration management.
The EU’s assistance has also been directed toward local communities/ municipalities hosting migrants with a view to strengthening social cohesion and capacity building for institutions in charge of migration management.
List of key local partners/organisations
- Ministry of European Integration
- Ministry of finance
- Ministry of Interior
- Commissariat for Refugees and Migration
- Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Policy
- Ministry of Health
- Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development
The European Union (EU) is the largest donor in the Republic of Serbia in the area of migration management. Since 2015, with an increased migration influx to Serbia, the EU has put more than EUR130 million at the country’s disposal for the provision of humanitarian aid and protection to migrants, particularly children, and ensuring proper conditions at reception and asylum centers with regard to food, health care, and education. The EU’s assistance was also directed toward local communities/municipalities hosting migrants with a view to strengthening social cohesion, protection of the state border and combating migrant smuggling, and capacity building for institutions dealing with migration management. In addition, the EU has offered Serbia more than EUR28 million for efficient border control, thus contributing to the safety of Serbian citizens by making border crossings safer and preventing criminal activities, while ensuring swift border procedures for people and goods (Integrated Border Management-IBM).
