Balkans Told to Curb Flow of Asylum Seekers

The number of asylum seekers in the EU from five Balkan countries - Albania, Bosnia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia - rose by a massive 40 per cent in the first nine months of 2014 compared to the same period in 2013.

On February 25, the Commission wrote that the vast majority of applications had been rejected as unfounded.

"The benefits of visa liberalisation have been very visible in terms of enhancing peopleto-people contacts and business opportunities," it noted.

"However, misuse of the visa-free travel scheme for seeking asylum in the EU must be addressed systematically and through proper allocation of resources.

"I strongly call for the full support and engagement of all participating countries," Dimitris Avramopoulos, Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, said.

Avramopoulos's statement came as the Commission published its fifth report on the functioning of the visa-free scheme with these five Balkan countries.

According the European Commission data, about 3.7 per cent of asylum application for Montenegrin citizens were approved, 2.7 per cent for Serbian citizens, and 1 per cent for Macedonians.

 Meanwhile, 8.1 per cent of Albanian applicants and 5.9 per cent of citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina received international protection in the EU and Schengen-associated countries in 2013.

The report revealed that the number of asylum applications submitted in the EU had steadily risen since the visa regime was liberalised in 2009 and 2010.

The EU has issued a list of recommendations calling on Balkan countries to take decisive moves to curb the numbers.

"Each Western Balkan visa-free country must be able to show a sustained downward trend in the number of unfounded asylum...