BELGRADE - Serbia would introduce stricter controls at its border crossings to stem the tide of asylum seekers from Serbia to the European Union (EU), Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said Wednesday.

"We will begin controls on the borders, to prevent the exit from the country in a way that endangers the interests of Serbia," Dacic was quoted by Radio Television Serbia (RTS) as saying in Belgrade.

Since the EU slashed visa requirements for most Western Balkan countries a year ago, there has been a sharp rise in political asylum seekers - mostly Roma Gypsies from the region - arriving primarily in Belgium, Germany, Sweden and Luxembourg.

Dacic's announcement comes one day after EU Interior Ministers agreed on a mechanism that would allow for the reintroduction of visas in emergency circumstances.

Dacic urged members of the Roma community to stay at home, and said EU countries could do more to address the asylum problem by dealing with its root cause: poverty.

Esref Ramadani, a representative of the Roma community in Serbia, also urged his compatriots not to falsely claim political asylum in the EU.

According to UNHCR, Serbia was the top country of origin for asylum seekers in the EU in 2010. Most applicants have been identified as Roma, ethnic Albanians and ethnic Muslims from the more impoverished regions of the country.