According to Amnesty International annual human rights report, discrimination, hate crimes and nationalistic rhetoric are still prevalent.

According to Danilo Curcic, a legal analyst at Praxis, an NGO in Belgrade that aims to promote, protect and improve human rights, the poor economic situation in Serbia was the main reason such a large number of Roma claimed asylum in the EU.

"But broadcasting the news that the biggest number of Serbian citizens who are asking for asylum are Roma, and putting them into separate group … could be really dangerous and cause negative connotation, discrimination or even some violence," Curcic told SETimes.

The most violated Roma rights in Serbia are basic economic and social rights, especially the right to adequate housing and to personal documents, Curcic said.

A better approach by social institutions, especially with those who have been rejected when they asked for asylum, would help solve the problem, he added.

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