Western Balkan Countries Pool Efforts to Fight Illegal Migration

Bulgaria in EU | November 6, 2012, Tuesday // 08:37|  views

Activists and asylum seekers protest in favour of improved living conditions for asylum seekers at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, 29 October 2012. . Photo by EPA/BGNES

Western Balkan countries plan to step up efforts to prevent unfounded applications for asylum and abuse of visa-free access to the European Union.

"We shall launch and pursue effective investigation of facilitators of irregular migration and prosecute those who enable the misuse of the visa-free regime in close cooperation with the law enforcement authorities of the EU member states, as well as Europol," said a joint declaration adopted by Western Balkans justice and home ministers at a meeting in Albania.

A number of EU Member States including Belgium, France, Germany, and Sweden, have called on the European Commission to allow them to restore internal border control after several Western Balkan countries were granted visa-free status in 2010 under the EU's Schengen agreement.

According to Western European officials, migrants are abusing the asylum system, creating substantial difficulties for the administration.

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Tags: asylum seekers, Asylum, illegal immigrants, Schengen, EU member states, Western Balkans, border control, visa-free

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