Danger of visa free regime

Top Channel: Are Albanians considered a danger for asylum in the Schengen area, compared to the other countries of Balkan?

Tanya Fayon, repporteur for Visa, European Parliament: I wouldn’t say that the visa are in danger today, but what we know with certainty is that there are new data about Albanian asylum seekers in the Schengen area, mostly in Germany. We are seeing a significant growth this year, that’s why I would like to notify the authorities. I hope that they are doing everything possible so that we don’t face a situation in which a member country would demand a temporary visa ban. We say a growth of more than 100% in February, compared to January. If we see the numbers they are not huge, but concerning, nonetheless. The Albanians are mostly seeking asylum in Germany, Switzerland, the Great Britain and now in the EU. We have a mechanism that allows member countries to reestablish the visa. I don’t want to see that happen.

Top Channel: When we see the weekly report of FRONTEX members, there are growths even with 1000%. Is this enough for Germany to ask the Commission to implement this mechanism for Albania?

Tanya Fayon: Every member country might request the reestablishment of the visa regime for any country that benefits today from the visa lift. This danger is there, but I wouldn’t raise any alarm. It is important that Tirana, the responsible authorities and politicians, work closely with Brussels and make everything necessary so that people can be informed that they should not travel and abuse with the rules. They cannot look for a job. Certainly, there is a small number of people for which asylum is justified. But in most of the cases, people are repatriated and they lose the right to travel, by putting in danger the free movement of the entire country. For this reason it is important to prevent these abuses and make everyone be assured, because what we are seeing today is the growth of illegal immigrants coming from Albania, and this requires attention. It is very important that Tirana is doing everything possible in cooperation with Brussels, with the respective authorities, to guarantee the borders and the safety of documents, so that we don’t see people abusing with the rules. As I said, we are in a very difficult situation in Europe and we have this mechanism that countries like Germany might put in motion. The news is that Germany confirmed that they would list Balkan in the group of countries with a safe origin. This would make the asylum procedures shorter, with the hope that fewer people will break the rules and fewer would try to abuse with the system.

Top Channel: What procedure is followed if this mechanism will be used, now that the regulation has been amended?

Tanya Fayon: When one or some member countries note problems, a sudden increase of the asylum seekers, they notify the Commission and they might demand a reevaluation. Certainly that the Commission will send experts to make the reevaluation within a very short time. They could reach consensus without changing the legislation and without discussing it with the European Parliament. The visa would be reestablished with Albania or any other country within a few weeks. This is possibl, and the other thing that I want to mention, is that the entire visa free package and reciprocity comes before the EU Court of Justice. he Commission decided to challenge this package before the court, due to the reciprocity part and the abuses with legal acts. However, this mechanism is in act regardless of the fact that there is no decision from the Court.

Prepared by: Arta Tozaj  

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