Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia, as well as Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine continue to fulfil the criteria that have allowed them to benefit from the visa liberalisation regime for their citizens.
This is what the Commission said on Friday 10 July in a report on the subject. Its overall positive assessment does not preclude specificities and weaknesses. Some Member States make no secret of their difficulties, particularly with countries such as Albania or Georgia. Citizens of these two countries who arrive legally in the EU without visas do indeed tend to lodge asylum applications that are deemed unfounded.
In its report, the Commission generally considers that the countries concerned "continue to take steps to address the problems of irregular migration and border protection" and that coordination and cooperation on readmission and return of migrants remain positive.
"The overwhelming majority of citizens of visa-free countries are bona fide travellers with legitimate reasons for visiting the EU", the report says. But efforts can be made, for example "through targeted information campaigns on the rights and obligations associated with visa waiver".
The Commission acknowledges that, despite a decrease, the number of unfounded asylum claims, in particular in the cases of Albania and Georgia, remains "a concern".
The number of illegally overstaying Albanian nationals increased from 32,355 to 34,410 (+6%) between 2018 and 2019. "The migration of Albanian nationals continues to be the highest figure of all the Western Balkan countries analysed in this report".
Moreover, the reception capacity for asylum seekers and persons subject to return procedures is insufficient in some countries, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The report also notes that "high-level corruption remains a problem in all the countries covered by this report", in particular in Moldova and Ukraine.
Link to the report: https://bit.ly/3iOzwiD (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)