Brussels, 27/08/2015 (Agence Europe) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel, speaking at a special summit on the Western Balkans in Vienna on Thursday 27 August (see other article), has once again called on her European partners to “work together” to resolve the migration crisis.
On the very day that the bodies of some 50 migrants who had entered Austria illegally were found in an abandoned lorry, the chancellor called on her European counterparts to remember that they had been able to build peace in Europe and, recently, had managed to resolve the economic and financial crisis. “Everyone knows the situation in Syria”, she stated, arguing that it is the duty of the EU to assist the refugees and to offer them shelter.
Austria, too, called for an EU action plan, as did the foreign minister of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Nikola Poposki, who said that, “unless we have a European answer to this crisis, no one should be under any illusion that this will be solved”. The Serbian minister, Ivica Dacic asked the EU: “When do you plan to establish controls and prevent migrants going to Serbia and Macedonia?” (FYROM).
The countries of the Western Balkans, especially FYROM and Serbia, are currently being overwhelmed by the influx of Syrian, Iraqi, Eritrean and Afghan refugees who, after reaching Greece, cross the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Serbia in an attempt to reach the EU, largely through Hungary.
Some leaders of Western Balkan countries made it clear on Thursday that they need more help. “I'm not going to mince my words. We are bearing the brunt” stated Dacic. “I believe the EU should bring forward an action plan and ask us to join it”, he added (our translation). Germany announced at the conference, that it was making €1 million available to the Balkan countries to manage the influx of refugees.
The German chancellor gave assurances at the meeting that “we will find a way to share the load more fairly” and that the EU would discuss this matter urgently - even though, at the end of July, the member states had still not been able to reach agreement on the Commission proposals on relocating 40,000 people already in Greece and Italy in other European countries (see EUROPE 11363).
Western Balkans on list of safe countries of origin. With regard to the specific situation of the Balkan states, which are not only transit countries for refugees entering the EU but also countries whose nationals sometimes seek to abuse the visa liberalisation schemes and apply for asylum in the EU, Merkel indicated that agreement had been reached on the drafting of a list of safe countries of origin. This will mean that asylum requests from Serbian, Albanian, Montenegrin and Kosovar nationals seeking protection in the EU can be swiftly ruled invalid. The premise will be that EU candidate countries must, in all logic, be deemed safe.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini confirmed that the Commission was preparing such a list and also a permanent mechanism for relocating refugees which, in future, will permit exceptional exemption from the Dublin regulation rules in the event of a surge in migration. It is by no means certain, however, that the member states will accept such a measure, given that they have yet to agree to the current proposal on relocating some of the 40,000 refugees within their borders.
The list of safe countries of origin, which will only affect nationals of Western Balkan countries, will not be able to resolve the migration problem. It will, however, provide some vital breathing space for the asylum systems of a number of European countries. In Germany, close to 40% of asylum applications are made by nationals of these Western Balkan countries. Virtually all of these requests are rejected. (Solenn Paulic)