EU Commission presents new action plan for Western Balkans to tackle migration

BELGRADE, Serbia

The European Commission on Monday presented a new action plan with the Western Balkans to strengthen cooperation on migration and border management.

The move came ahead of the EU-Western Balkans Summit which will be held in Albania's capital Tirana on Dec. 6.

"Irregular movements along the Western Balkans routes have significantly increased this year due to several factors, including economic pressures and insecurity resulting from ongoing conflicts," according to a statement by the commission.

"The non-alignment of visa-free regime with the EU's visa policy also contributes to an increasing number of people that arrive directly by air to Western Balkan countries and move onward to the EU. Close cooperation with our Western Balkan partners is essential to address these shared migratory challenges," said the statement.

According to the commission, the action plan aims to strengthen the cooperation on migration and border management in the Balkans region in light of their unique status with EU accession perspective and efforts to align with EU rules.

"Arrivals along the Western Balkan route have tripled compared to last year," said Margaritis Schinas, vice president of the commission,

The action plan has 20 operational measures structured along five pillars.

The main focuses are strengthening border management along the routes, swift asylum procedures and support reception capacity, fighting migrant smuggling, enhancing readmission cooperation and returns as well as achieving visa policy alignment.

"The Western Balkan route has been in our focus for a while now...With this Action Plan we are now building on our good cooperation and we provide a path forward for continuing to work closely together," said Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson.

It sets outs a series of measures to reinforce the EU's support to member states facing increased migratory pressure along the Western Balkan routes.