The strengthening of border control along the Western Balkan migrant route and deployment of Frontex members at the borders between western Balkan countries are some of the elements of the Action Plan unveiled by the European Commission on Monday with the aim of easing the migratory pressure.

The document was presented in Brussels by Ylva Johansson, Commissioner for Home Affairs, and Margaritis Schinas, the Commission’s Vice-President for Promoting our European Way of Life.

Commissioner Johansson announced the Commissioner’s negotiations with Western Balkan partners on Frontex’s new mandate.

Currently, about 500 members of Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, are being deployed along the external borders of the European Union with the western Balkan neighbours.

The Commissioner said that the new mandate will enable Frontex to have its representatives deployed also along the borders between western Balkan countries.

It is up to Frontex and partners to decide how many members of the agency will be deployed, but I have to say that we will have as many as necessary, because the EU member-states strongly support Frotex in this mission, she added.

Ahead of the EU-Western Balkan summit in the Albanian capital city of Tirana, the EC has published a set of measures which will be taken to address the migrants’ influx via the western Balkans into the EU.

Frontex’s data show that in the first ten months of 2022, there were 281,000 unregistered arrivals of migrants from the western Balkan region into the EU, or 77% rise compared to 2021.

The five-point action plan envisages the strengthening of the management of the borders along the migrant route; the boosting of the capacity of western Balkan countries in conducting procedure for granting asylum and building more reception centres and anti-smuggling operational plans; improving cooperation in readmission of irregular migrants; and, alignment with the EU’s visa policy.

Alignment with the EU’s visa policy

Alignment with the EU’s visa policy is seen as “crucial for the good functioning of the visa-free regime with the EU. The lack of alignment with the EU’s visa policy may lead to increasing irregular arrivals and should be addressed as a matter of priority in all Western Balkan partners,” says the Commission.

A high number of migrants fly to Western Balkans, mainly to Serbia, which has already enabled a visa-free regime to some countries in return for their non-recognition of Kosovo.

This scheme enables a considerable number of migrants from Burundi, Tunisia, Cuba and India to arrive in Serbia on regular flights and later to proceed towards the EU.