EU Alarmed by Influx of Western Balkan Immigrants

Macedonians celebrate the end of the Schengen visa system for Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, in Skopje,The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on 19 Dec 2009. Photo by EPA/BGNES

The European Commission has demanded that the authorities in Macedonia, Serbia, and Montenegro take measures to stem the influx of immigrants to Belgium.

This has happened after Belgium requested help from the EC over the fact that since visa-free travel to the EU was introduced on January 1, 2010, the montly number of Macedonians asking for asylum in the country increased twofold.

An increased influx of immigrants from Serbia, Montenegro, and Kosovo has also been registered in Belgium.

The Belgian authorities became alarmed when they noticed that in January and February they had a lot more asylum seekers from Macedonia than from Afghanistan.

All applications for asylum are to be rejected, and the Belgian authorities have vowed to extradite all illegal immigrants that do not leave within the required period.

Michel Cercone, EC Spokesperson for Justice, Freedom, and Security, has pointed out, as cited by the BNR, that the authorities of each country are responsible for explaining to their citizens the terms of visa-free travel in the EU.

The Bulgarian National Radio’s correspondent in Skopje reports that every day buses packed with families, mostly from Macedonia’s Albanian and Roma minorities, set off for Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland. They are aided by “tourist operators” dealing with “one-way excursions”, which according to media reports, are backed by local Roma chiefs such Member of Macedonian Parliament Admi Bayram.

Belgium’s Prime Minister is going to visit Macedonia next week in an attempt to resolve the emerging scandal.

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