Brussels, 25/02/2015 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission once again stated its concern on Wednesday 25 February at the “misuse of the visa-free travel scheme” by citizens of the Western Balkans “for seeking asylum in the EU”.
It expressed this view in the fifth assessment of the functioning of the visa-free scheme with Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia in place since 2009 and 2010. The EU, the Commission says, is facing a massive rise in illegal immigration from Kosovo, via Serbia, towards a number of member states. The Commission and Pristina are currently engaged in talks aimed at leading ultimately to visa liberalisation.
“Asylum abuse by citizens of the visa-free countries in the Western Balkans remains a considerable concern”, says the Commission. It nonetheless remains “committed to maintaining visa-free travel for citizens of the Western Balkans countries. The benefits of visa liberalisation have been very visible in terms of enhancing people-to-people contacts and business opportunities”, stated Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos. “However, the misuse of the visa-free travel scheme for seeking asylum in the EU must be addressed systematically and through proper allocation of resources.”
According to the report, the number of asylum applications submitted in the EU and Schengen-associated countries by nationals of the five visa-free Western Balkan countries has been steadily rising since visa liberalisation was achieved, peaking in 2013 at 53,705 applications. Figures for the first nine months of 2014 are 40 % higher than for the same period of 2013. At the same time, the asylum recognition rate across the EU and Schengen-associated countries continued to fall for all Western Balkan visa-free citizens, “indicating that the overwhelming majority of applications remained manifestly unfounded”, the Commission points out. The recognition rate was 3.7 % for Montenegrin citizens, 2.7 % for Serbian citizens, and 1 % for nationals of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Meanwhile, 8.1 % of Albanian applicants and 5.9 % of citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina received international protection in the EU and Schengen-associated countries in 2013.
Serbian citizens remained the largest group of Western Balkan visa-free asylum-seekers in the EU and Schengen-associated countries (42 % in 2013), followed by citizens of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Albania (21 % each), citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina (14 %) and citizens of Montenegro (2 %). Germany remains the largest recipient of Western Balkan visa-free asylum applications, with an increased share of the Western Balkan intake (from 12 % in 2009 to 75 % in the first nine months of 2014). The Commission notes that “each Western Balkan visa-free country must be able to show a sustained downward trend in the number of unfounded asylum applications submitted in EU Member States”. It recommends that each of these countries take resolute action to “increase targeted assistance to minority populations, in particular those of Roma ethnicity”; “strengthen operational cooperation and information exchange on border management, migration, asylum and readmission with EU Member States, the Commission and Frontex, Europol and EASO”; and “investigate facilitators of irregular migration, and prosecute those who enable the abuse of the visa-free scheme”.
No call for activation of safeguard clause.
Member states are encouraged to take steps to “address the pull factors of irregular migration”, and are asked to consider streamlining asylum procedures for the citizens of the five visa-free Western Balkan countries, for example, by “having more staff assess asylum cases in peak periods or by establishing an accelerated procedure that enables the swift processing of applications at peak times or for citizens of particular countries”. They might also consider “a more cautious and selective use of cash benefits, such as pocket money and financial return assistance, to reduce the financial incentives for asylum abuse”, or, less negatively, “organising high-level visits to the countries concerned and information campaigns, in cooperation with local NGOs and municipalities”. To date, despite the known abuses, no member state has asked for the safeguard clause to be activated. This clause, adopted in 2013, allows the Commission to suspend the visa-free scheme in the event of abuse, the Commission stated. (Translation from the original French version)