Brussels, 14/12/2005 (Agence Europe) -At a debate held in Brussels on the "Relaunch of Europe" on 12 December, Commissioner Frattini announced that he would "look into setting up a network of Member States' Consulates, in order to develop identical visa and immigration policies" (EUROPE 9088). Such a measure would help to minimise the risk of a two- or even more- speed Schengen visa, depending on how close a third State is to the countries of the Schengen zone. Taking the example of the Balkans, Franco Frattini said that it would be "dangerous to make Europe into a fortress, because nationalist movements in these countries are in favour of a political and institutional disengagement. They would therefore draw an enormous advantage from this policy of firmness". Furthermore, as shown by the main conclusions of a report published on 29 November by the NGO International Crisis Group (ICG), the highly restrictive visa policy imposed upon Albania and the states of the former Yugoslavia by Brussels has led to a "deep anti-European resentment" within the region. In 2003, at the Thessaloniki summit, the Heads of State and Government of the EU promised the leaders of the countries in question that they would relax the formalities imposed upon their nationals, but Franco Frattini pointed out on 30 November that for the time being, he was excluding "the option of lifting a Schengen visa obligation for Western Balkans nationals" (Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldavia and Serbia-Montenegro). However, the Commissioner is planning to facilitate the granting of short-stay visas for nationals of these countries. Basically, this means that the visa obligation remains in place, but that visas can be granted much more flexibly to certain categories of people (students, researchers, diplomats and business people). Next January, Franco Frattini will unveil a roadmap to facilitate these procedures. The likely quid pro quo is the signature of readmission agreements with the various countries in question, which would commit, for their part, to facilitate the repatriation of their nationals found illegally in the Schengen area.