EU Commission Concerned by Asylum Abuse by Western Balkans Citizens

Asylum abuse by citizens of the visa-free countries in the Western Balkans remains a considerable concern for the EU, the European Commission said in a report on Wednesday.

The fifth post-visa liberalisation report on the Western Balkans shows that more measures are necessary to maintain the integrity of the visa-free scheme and to address potential abuses of the EU asylum system, the Commission said in its assessment of the functioning of the visa-free regime with Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia.

According to the findings of the report, the number of asylum applications submitted in the EU and Schengen-associated countries by nationals of the five visa-free Western Balkan countries has been steadily rising since visa liberalisation was achieved, peaking in 2013 at 53,705.

Figures for the first nine months of last year are 40 % higher than for the same period of 2013.

At the same time, the asylum recognition rate across the EU and Schengen-associated countries continued to fall for all Western Balkan visa-free citizens, indicating that the overwhelming majority of applications remained manifestly unfounded.

The recognition rate was 3.7 % for Montenegrin citizens, 2.7 % for Serbian citizens, and 1 % for nationals of Macedonia. Meanwhile, 8.1 % of Albanian applicants and 5.9 % of citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina received international protection in the EU and Schengen-associated countries in 2013.

Serbian citizens remained the largest group of Western Balkan visa-free asylum-seekers in the EU and Schengen-associated countries (42 % in 2013), the Commission said.

Likewise, Germany remained the largest recipient of Western Balkan visa-free asylum applications, with a sharp rise in the share...