August 20 (SeeNews) - The European Union is allocating an additional 10 million euro ($11.1 million) to support Bosnia in tackling the increased presence of migrants and refugees on its territory, the office of the EU delegation to the Balkan country said.
This brings up to 34 million euro the EU's total assistance extended to Bosnia for migration since the start of 2018, the EU delegation said in a statement on Monday.
"The EU funds will be mainly used to set up additional temporary reception centres and provide basic services and protection, including food and accommodation, access to water sanitation and hygiene," the statement said.
"The EU will also continue improving the capacity of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s authorities for identification, registration and referral of third-country nationals crossing the border and for border control and surveillance, thereby also contributing to the fight against and prevention of migrant smuggling, trafficking in human beings and other types of cross-border crimes," the statement added.
The local authorities will also be supported in the voluntary return of migrants to their home countries.
According to official estimates, some 36,000 refugees and migrants have entered Bosnia since January 2018.
Out of them, some 7,400 are at present in need of assistance, mostly in the Una-Sana Canton in northwest Bosnia, while 4,100 are accommodated in EU-funded temporary reception centres.
The EU's assistance to Bosnia in respect of migration and border management has reached 58.6 million euro since 2007, being extended through the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA).
($=0.9029 euro)