EU to Help Western Balkan Countries Tighten Border Controls and Deal with Migration
The Commission also announced that it is adopting a new assistance package worth a total of €39.2 million following the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA III) in order to strengthen border management in the Western Balkans, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.
“We are committed to supporting our partners in the Western Balkans and strengthening our cooperation on migration management on the ground. Therefore, we propose to negotiate status agreements under the new legal framework that would allow for the deployment of Frontex to all four partner countries with the full power of its mandate to ensure that their borders continue to be respected and protected in line with European best practices,” Ylva Johansson, Commissioner for Home Affairs, pointed out in this regard.
Regarding the issue, Olivér Várhelyi, Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, considered that the package is timely after, according to him, migration is among the most important topics stressing the need to work even more closely with the Western Balkan partners.
He stressed that following the increased migratory pressure in this zone, it is important to strengthen border protection and fight the smuggling networks, among others.
Várhelyi stressed that the EU Commission would provide more political and financial help.
“Between 2021 and 2024, we intend to raise our funding by 60 per cent in total, to at least €350 million for our Western Balkan partners. This will support the Western Balkan countries in all areas of developing effective migration management systems, taking into account asylum and reception, border security and returns,” he pointed out in this regard.
The new proposal means that the Commission, as well as EU Border and Coast Guard Agency, will tighten cooperation to help the Western Balkan countries to deal with the current migration situation and also fight to smuggle and ensure security.
Following the new framework, the status agreement will permit Frontex standing corps to be deployed in the third country both at the European Union borders as well as borders with the third countries and also exercise the executive powers.
The recommendation of the European Commission means that the Council will now need to adopt a decision permitting the Commission to open negotiations with Albania, Montenegro, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
