Status: 10/20/2022 10:29 p.m
The EU and the Western Balkan countries have decided to exchange information more closely on refugee policy. It is necessary to align visa policy with EU rules and to effectively secure the EU’s external borders.
Germany and the EU want to work with the countries of the Western Balkans to limit irregular migration via the so-called Balkan route. However, no quick solutions can be expected, said Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser after a meeting with her counterparts from 16 other countries in Berlin.
Twice as many meetings aimed for
However, it had been agreed that the so-called Berlin process would now meet every six months instead of annually. Faeser emphasized that a package of measures was needed to counteract the latest developments on the Western Balkans route.
This includes aligning the visa policy of the Western Balkan states with EU standards, effectively combating smuggling, effective border protection and reliable procedures for returning people who do not have the right to stay in the EU. Since these are not easy topics, “a permanent, comprehensive and trusting exchange” with the Western Balkan countries is necessary.
Three times as many migrants as in previous years
According to the EU border protection agency Frontex, more than 106,000 people have irregularly entered the EU via the so-called Balkan route since the beginning of the year, 170 percent more than in the same period last year. This is the highest level since 2016.
EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson commented: “We really must and can do more in this area and it is very closely linked to the fight against organized crime.”
According to EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson, there have been three times as many arrivals and attempts to enter the EU via the Western Balkans route than in previous years.
Image: AFP
Expansion of Frontex
At a joint press conference with Faeser, Johansson announced that he would therefore further expand the presence of Frontex officials. So far, 300 EU officials have been deployed in the Western Balkans. Johansson now wants to propose to the EU Council that in future Frontex officials should no longer only support the Western Balkans in securing the external borders, but could also be deployed at the internal borders between the Western Balkans, she said.
To this end, the Interior Commissioner wants to renegotiate the so-called status agreements on Frontex operations with Serbia, Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro. In addition, the Western Balkan countries are to be given more support in returning third-country nationals to their countries of origin.
With a view to taking in people fleeing war and persecution, Faeser also emphasized: “We stand by our humanitarian responsibility – together.” According to Faeser, the point is not to allow irregular migration to end up harming people who are forced to take these routes under the most adverse circumstances. “And above all, not those who have an enormous need for protection and should find a home here in Germany,” said Faeser.
Berlin process since 2014
The so-called Berlin Process is a conference format that former Chancellor Angela Merkel launched in 2014 on the occasion of the first Western Balkans Conference in Berlin. According to the self-description, the goal of the Berlin process is to improve regional cooperation in the Western Balkans and to support the rapprochement of the states with the EU.
The home affairs ministers of nine EU member states and the United Kingdom as well as representatives of the governments of the six Western Balkan countries were invited to the deliberations. Representatives of the EU and international and regional bodies and organizations also took part.