The European Union is seriously considering the suspension of the visa-free regime for the countries of the Western Balkans, confirmed the spokesperson for internal affairs of the European Commission, Mikela Circona, and the rapporteur of the European Parliament for visas, Tanja Fajon.
Tanja Fajon said that the vast majority of members are in favor of introducing a special "mechanism" for the temporary suspension of visas at the request of any member country. According to her knowledge, the majority of member states are in favor of adopting this mechanism, and the European Parliament is under great pressure to give the green light. She hopes that the mechanism will never be launched, because it opens up opportunities for politicization.
Once the mechanism is adopted, which is expected by the end of the year, any EU member state can request the suspension of the visa-free regime. Then an expert group is formed, which assesses whether there has really been a significant increase in the number of asylum seekers, and if so, a suspension is introduced for six months. During those six months, the expert group evaluates the data and then either a return to the previous state or the abolition of the visa-free regime is announced, explained a diplomat from the European Commission.
Tanja Fajon confirmed that there are quite a number of votes from some countries who want the visa-free regime to be suspended for Serbia. Another country that is in danger is Macedonia, followed by Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania. No one mentioned Montenegro, but that's why in the documents, all five countries from the region that recently became beneficiaries of the visa-free regime are mentioned without distinguishing between them.
Previously, Circone's spokesman said at yesterday's press conference that six Western European countries, namely Austria, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Germany, sent a letter to the European Commission at the level of interior ministers announcing that they want to suspend the visa-free regime. Cirkone said that the figures show that the total number of asylum seekers from all over the world in the EU has increased, and that in that total number there is a "worrying trend of increasing false asylum seekers from the Western Balkans".
Those fake asylum seekers, he said, block or slow down the procedure for real asylum seekers: "That's why we send the most serious call to every country in the Western Balkans to take this situation with the utmost seriousness".
He declined to say how many asylum seekers come from which countries in the region, because "trends are changing."
To the same question, in a separate conversation in the European Parliament, Social Democrat Fajon said that the majority of asylum seekers are still from Serbia, but that BiH and Albania (probably combined) have figures almost as high as Serbia.
This major upward shift in thinking about the region has occurred in the past few days, and Germany is leading the way. It started unusually with harsh criticism of Croatia from the highest sources in Germany, such as the President of the Bundestag or the Minister of Foreign Affairs Westerwelle, and continued with announcements about the suspension of the visa-free regime for the region. Even the European Parliament, which is always on the side of the Western Balkans, criticizes and leaves relatively little space. For his part, the spokesman of Circone resorted to phrases about how "the visa-free regime is a great privilege and responsibility", and that "not only for politicians, but also for the whole society", and taught that "it does not make sense for the small minority that abuses the visa-free regime to suffer everyone".
Obviously, the turn is political and perhaps related to the upcoming elections in some of those countries, and to the desire of politicians to show that they are vigilant in not being overshadowed by asylum seekers from the Balkans. In all, it seems, it is about a few thousand people at most, which realistically, should not be a problem for large European countries.
Obviously, the turn is political and perhaps related to the upcoming elections in some of those countries, and to the desire of politicians to show that they are vigilant in not being overshadowed by asylum seekers from the Balkans. In all, it seems, it is about a few thousand people at most, which realistically, should not be a problem for large European countries
How the Roma found a way to change their surname to Germanj
The European Commission and others avoided mentioning Roma in the context "because everyone is equal for us". But the fact is that many Roma families, faced with the prospect of a hard winter and without the possibility of earning, aim to spend a few cold months in better conditions.
The best conditions are in Germany, where every asylum seeker must receive, according to the law passed in July, a relatively high standard. He receives a roof over his head, clothes, shoes, health care, education for his children or for himself, language learning, as well as financial compensation equal to the monthly social assistance in Germany.
If, after three months, it is established that it is not a real asylum seeker, but a fake one who came to spend the winter, the application is rejected, but an appeal is filed, the resolution of which takes the next five months.
In contrast, Belgium passed a law a few days ago that appeals from the Western Balkans are decided after 15 days, and after some time it will be seen whether the number of asylum seekers from the Western Balkans decreases.
But it is not only about Roma from the former Yugoslavia, because we can also imagine that Roma from Bulgaria and Romania, where there is also a big crisis, would like eight months of rest from their hard life.
Since, according to an earlier agreement, citizens of EU member states cannot seek asylum in another EU member state, Roma families from EU countries leave the EU, and then the returnees present themselves at the Schengen border as Roma from the former Yugoslavia. Therefore, their number was added to the one that is now burdening the Western Balkan countries.
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