BERLIN (HPD) — Germany hosted a meeting Thursday with representatives of the European Union and other European countries organized to curb migration through the so-called Balkan route.
“We want to protect people who are fleeing to us from war and political persecution,” German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said. “At the same time, we are also taking decisive action against irregular migration…our stated goal is to reduce the increase in irregular migration traversing the Balkan route.”
In recent months, more and more migrants have tried to reach the more prosperous countries of Western Europe through the Balkans, often paying thousands of euros (dollars) to smugglers to help them cross borders without valid travel documents. .
The plan presented at the Berlin meeting includes aligning the visa policies of the Balkan states – Serbia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro and North Macedonia – with EU standards, combating migrant smuggling, ensure effective border protection and expedite deportations.
All of those countries are seeking to join the EU, which now has 27 nations.
Serbia has come under particular pressure from EU countries to tighten its entry policies and no longer allow visa-free travel to citizens of India, Tunisia, Morocco and elsewhere. These people often use Serbia as a gateway to the European continent and continue west from there.
Although Germany has taken in more than a million Ukrainian refugees – mostly women and children – who entered legally since Russia attacked the eastern European country on February 24, the government has recently taken a much more hostile tone with compared to migrants from other parts of the world.
Austria, the Czech Republic and other Central European countries have also reported an increase in the arrival of immigrants and asylum seekers.