Most Balkan States Adopt UN Migration Pact

More than 150 UN member states signed the Global Compact for Safe and Orderly Migration on Monday in Marrakech, Morocco - which has caused controversy in Balkan countries as it has done elsewhere.

Bulgaria was among six EU member states that backed way from signing the pact, claiming it puts the national interest at risk. Croatia at the last moment decided to back it, but is still affected by the controversy.

The US under Donald Trump backed out last year.

Bulgaria's announced that it was withdrawing from the pact after Hungary, Austria and Poland announced that they would not sign it.

The Czech Republic, Estonia, Slovakia and Switzerland have also said no.

Montenegro's Foreign Ministry, on the other hand, told BIRN that it supported the UN pact. It said it was the first United Nations agreement on adopting a common approach to international migration and all its dimensions.

Romania's Foreign Minister, Theodor Melescanu, was present in Marrakech and signed the UN pact, after President Klaus Iohannis approved it last week.

"Romania will keep its capacity of decision over migration," the ministry told BIRN. "The pact upholds the sovereign right of states to determine their own policies in the field and their own legislation to implement it," it added.

It said Romania saw the pact not as facilitating migration but the contrary: "It contains provisions that discourage people to leave their states of origin and facilitates returns and readmission."

Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania have already signed the document.

Macedonia also sent a delegation to the conference and signed the pact. 

After Croatian President Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic announced that she will not attend the conference, which was seen as...