Even if Bulgaria is the “main gateway,” several thousand are coming via Romania, emphasized Chancellor Nehammer at the Western Balkans summit. EU Commission President von der Leyen shows understanding for Austria.
Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) described the EU Commission’s action plan for the Balkan route on Tuesday as the “first important step”. At the EU Western Balkans summit in the Albanian capital of Tirana, Nehammer emphasized that Austria was not only concerned with the Western Balkans route, but also with the migration route via Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary to Austria. He reiterated his no to the Schengen expansion to include Bulgaria and Romania. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen showed understanding for Austria.
There are still further demands from the Austrian side in terms of migration. Nehammer mentioned, for example, asylum procedures in safe third countries or a “rejection guideline” for people from countries who do not have the right to lead instead of individual assessments. “We still have a lot of things to talk about.” Nehammer emphasized that the EU “recognizes that the Western Balkans are an important geostrategic partner when it comes to illegal migration”.
Austria rejects Schengen expansion
On the subject of Schengen, Nehammer made it clear: “There is currently no approval for an expansion to include Bulgaria, Romania.” From the Austrian point of view, an expansion is unthinkable if measures are not taken to reduce the numbers. “We have 75,000 unregistered migrants,” declared the Chancellor. That is a question of security. Even if Bulgaria is the “main gateway”, several thousand come via Romania. Romanian President Klaus Johannis, for his part, emphasized that he wanted to continue talking to Austria. “We will discuss and negotiate until the last moment,” he said, according to Romanian media. The EU interior ministers are to decide on the Schengen extension on December 8th.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen showed understanding for Austria’s concerns regarding migration. “Austria needs solidarity and support, which is why we are working on it with our Austrian friends,” said von der Leyen. Austria is “extremely hard hit” by the flow of migrants and “if we look at illegal migration, we see that it has tripled compared to last year.”
At the summit, which was attended by all EU heads of state and government except Spain and the six Western Balkan countries – Serbia, Albania, North Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro and Kosovo – and which was held for the first time in the Western Balkans region, security was an issue in addition to migration a theme. It was also about preventing foreign influence.
Von der Leyen calls for a move away from Russia and China
Von der Leyen called on the Western Balkan countries to take a stand against authoritarian states such as Russia or China. “You have to decide which side you’re on – the side of democracy, that’s the European Union, your friend and partner. Or do you want to take a different path?” In this context, Nehammer referred to the partnership between the Western Balkans and the EU and the economic cooperation, for example in the field of energy supply. The EU is making one billion euros available to the Western Balkan countries for this purpose. The summit was “a totally strong sign of life for the relationship between the European Union and the Western Balkans,” Nehammer summed up. “It was spoken very openly” – about problem areas and the areas where there is still some catching up to do.
In a joint declaration, support for European foreign and security policy, including sanctions against Russia, was mentioned as a basic requirement for further rapprochement. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz admitted after the summit that the dispute with Serbia remains unresolved. “As far as the question of sanctions is concerned, we have a dissent with Serbia,” said Scholz, according to the German press agency. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić previously said: “We protect our national interests.” Serbia is “an independent country”. Before the summit, Vučić even threatened to boycott the Western Balkans meeting because of disagreements with Kosovo.
Deepen cooperation on defense
The EU summit also acknowledged the importance of the strategic partnership between the EU and the six Western Balkan countries in the context of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. The decision to open joint procurement of gas, LPG and hydrogen for the Western Balkans was reaffirmed. Cooperation in the areas of security and defense is to be intensified. In order to speed up the accession process, necessary reforms should be promoted, particularly in relation to the fight against corruption and organized crime. In the area of migration, the aim is to adapt the visa policy of the Western Balkan countries to EU standards and to intensify cooperation on returns.
Most recently, Serbia had lifted the visa exemption for travelers from Tunisia and Burundi, and something similar is planned for India. According to the EU Commission, other states should follow. The number of asylum applications in Austria from citizens of India and Tunisia had multiplied this year.
20 measures for migration on the Balkan route
The EU Commission presented the action plan for the Balkan route on Monday. The plan includes 20 measures. The EU Commission wants to support the Western Balkan countries with the asylum and registration procedures and with “guaranteeing appropriate reception conditions”. She announced a repatriation program for the coming year. The EU border protection authority Frontex is to help strengthen the EU’s external border protection. A task force from the EU police authority Europol is also to be deployed to combat people smugglers.
According to Frontex, the Western Balkans route is currently the most active migration route in Europe. 128,438 people entered the country in the first ten months of 2022, an increase of 168 percent compared to the same period last year.
(WHAT)