Some migrants who do not receive asylum in Western European countries could end up in the Balkans.
The UK is considering a proposal to set up "return centres" in countries such as Albania, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina for people whose asylum applications have been rejected and who no longer have the option of appealing, it is reported. BBC News.
At the same time, the European Commission proposed the establishment of Common European Return System (Common European System for Returns), with the possibility of people residing illegally in the EU being sent to third countries outside the EU bloc.
Amnesty International (AI) He strongly criticized such proposals., which Eva Gedi, director of their Office for European Institutions, called "a new low for Europe."
European officials emphasize, however, that a small percentage of people who are ordered to leave EU countries actually do so.
"We fully respect fundamental rights and international law, but those who do not have the right to stay must be removed quickly," said Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.
The proposal, which has yet to be voted on by the European Parliament and the European Council, mentions "return hubs" (returns hubs) in countries outside the European Union, but does not specify in which countries such centers would be opened.
The agreement should only be concluded with a third country that respects human rights and the principles of international law, including the prohibition of expulsion, it says in the proposal.
"It is still not clearly defined which countries are involved, but among others they mention the countries of the Western Balkans, primarily Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina," says Milica Švabić, from Klikaktiv, an organization that provides assistance to migrants.
"This proposal violates international conventions, primarily the right to asylum," he added to BBC Serbian.
The Commissariat for Refugees in Serbia did not respond to questions from the BBC in Serbian about the possible opening of centers for sending migrants from Western Europe.
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What does the European Commission's proposal entail?
The proposal, published in March this year, opens up the legal possibility for people who have received a final decision that they must leave EU territory to be sent to third countries on the basis of bilateral or EU-level agreements.
The period of stay in third countries can be "shorter or longer," the proposal states.
Unaccompanied minors and families with minors will not be sent to third countries, it added.
This document also provides for other tools to make returns "more efficient with full respect for fundamental rights."
"Only 20 percent of those who received a decision that they had to return left Europe."
"That number is too small. That's why we have set common rules regarding return decisions," said Ursula von der Leyen.
Milica Švabić sees this proposal as an intention to "keep migration on the periphery of the European Union."
"The burden is being shifted to so-called third countries, but it is not clear what is expected of them after they accept people back to their own territory. Does this mean that they have to stay in Serbia, and seek asylum here, or is Serbia expected to deport them and return them to their previous countries or countries of origin?" he says.
Italy opened two centers in Albania last year to house migrants who tried to reach Italian shores across the Mediterranean.
The intention was to wait in Albania for the asylum procedure to be carried out by the Italian authorities.
Those who receive asylum could then legally cross into Italy, and those rejected would be returned to their countries of origin, explains Milica Švabić.
The centers, however, remained empty after an Italian court ruled that the migrants could not be sent to Albania until the European Court of Justice ruled whether the countries they came from were safe for their return.
'Too big a bite'
Opening the centers would be "too big a deal for Serbia at this point," says Milica Švabić.
"We don't have enough people or money to deal with it, and I don't think there's any political will to create the conditions to accommodate people in an adequate way," he adds.
She is particularly concerned that people who have never been to this area before, but have tried to reach the European Union via other routes, could be deported to Serbia.
The Western Balkan route, which passes through Serbia, is mainly the route taken by refugees and migrants from the Middle East, Asia and Africa to reach European Union countries.
During 2024, the number of attempts to illegally cross the EU border decreased by 38 percent, according to Frontex, the EU border control agency.
The number of people trying to enter the EU from the Western Balkan route has decreased by 78 percent, it added.
The total number of those passing through the Western Balkans has decreased, but not to such an extent, says Švabić.
Due to greater police repression and more frequent pushbacks (returns from the border), they are turning more to smugglers, he claims.
Last year, 19.603 migrants stayed in official camps in Serbia, of whom the police registered 805 as asylum seekers, while 219 actually submitted an application, says Švabić.
In order to officially submit an asylum application, the MUP office needs to go to the camp and organize the submission of the application, he explains.
Since he rarely does so, there is a difference in the number of those who have expressed their intention to seek asylum and those who have actually done so, he says.
Last year, seven people were granted asylum in Serbia.
UK proposal 'at early stage'
The proposal, which is "at a very early stage," according to a government source, involves paying compensation to host countries for each person they take in.
These centers could house people who have come from countries considered unsafe to be returned to, such as Iran and Somalia.
The Western Balkan countries of Albania, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina have been mentioned as places where "return centers" could be opened.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer previously promised to tackle illegal arrivals to Britain.
Labour believes that establishing "return centres" would speed up the deportation process and that more people could be returned from the UK this way.
Based on our experience, "we know that supporting people to return to the countries they came from is a far more successful way than sending them somewhere like Albania where they will be detained in conditions that will inevitably be similar to prison," said Enver Solomon of the Refugee Council.
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