European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson told MIA that she is in contact with the Bulgarian authorities aimed at finding a solution to Sofia’s blockade of the Frontex agreement with North Macedonia.
North Macedonia cannot finalise the border management agreement with the European Union due to the bilateral dispute with Bulgaria. The European Union has begun concluding these agreements with the countries of the Western Balkans to integrate them into border management in order to prevent irregular migration.
Diplomatic sources told MIA that agreement on border management cooperation was concluded with Albania, Montenegro is on the right track, while North Macedonia should conclude it as soon as the disputes with Bulgaria are resolved.
“I hope we will conclude the Frontex agreement with North Macedonia as soon as possible. I discussed this issue with the Prime Minister of Bulgaria in order to make progress as it is very important,” Johansson told MIA.
European Commissioner for Home Affairs briefed Tuesday several correspondents in Brussels ahead of a EU-Western Balkans ministerial meeting, which is to take place on (Oct. 22) Thursday via video conference.
This is a regular annual meeting between the EU and the Western Balkan region, which is considered crucial for migration issues, given the importance of the Balkan route for asylum seekers.
Johansson will attend the meeting for the first time since assuming the post of the European Commissioner for Home Affairs.
Last month, Johansson presented a new Pact on Migration and Asylum, covering all of the different elements needed for a comprehensive European approach to migration. This is crucial for rebuilding trust between Member States and confidence in the capacity of the European Union to manage migration.
Johansson noted that in this context the cooperation with the Western Balkan countries is crucial not only because they are located directly on the EU’s external borders but also because they have the prospect of EU membership.
At Thursday’s meeting, home affairs ministers will discuss migration management, Frontex border management agreements, organized crime and human trafficking.
Preventing criminal networks involved in human trafficking is one of the most important issues for the European Commission.
Asked if the European Commission was aware of the fact that some of the people who “transport” migrants do it for small amount of money and for survival, Johansson said she was aware that some of those people were not “big fish”, but that the fight against trafficking in people continues.
“Even if someone is engaged in criminal survival activities, it remains criminal, it does not exclude the fact that they are part of large networks. According to a Europol report many people work for those networks, maybe they are not big fish, but they are part of them, and even if they are not aware of the structure, I think we need to fight human trafficking even when they are not big fish,” Johansson said.
Participants at the meeting will also discuss Fake asylum-seekers from the Western Balkans who submit asylum applications to the EU and have almost no chance of being accepted.
Johansson told MIA that the number of these “unjustified” asylum applications from the Western Balkans is no longer a major problem as it was a few years ago and that cooperation with the authorities in the region is good.
“I do not have the precise number for each country at the moment, but we will soon present a report that analyses the situation by country. I have the impression that things are good as we have good cooperation with countries,” she told reporters.
