TIRANA, Jan. 10 – With a total of 7,630 asylum requests in France, Albanians now lead the list of asylum-seeking countries by origin that had Paris ask Tirana for a better problem management.
The French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless people (OFPRA) said this week the number of asylum requests in France increased by 17 percent last year, as opposed to the 16 percent increase of 2016.
Eurostat’s data reports that the number of first-time Albanian asylum seekers to European Union member countries dropped to about 15,200 in the first three quarters of this years, with Germany, France and the Netherlands as the main destinations.
Nonetheless, along with six other nationalities (Syrians, Iraqis, Afghans, Nigerians, Pakistanis and Eritreans), Eurostat continues to say these “seven citizenships accounted together for nearly half of all first-time applicants in the EU Member States over the third quarter 2017.”
In France, Afghanistan comes after Albania, with 5,987 requests, followed by Haiti, with 4,934 requests.
OFPRA General Director Pascal Brice said this is the highest number of asylum-seeking requests the country has seen in the last 40 years.
The problem of Albanians has gotten worse as the number of requests has gotten twice as big as the number of requests in Germany. The country used to be the most coveted destination until November 2016, when for the first time the number of Albanians requesting asylum in France surpassed that in Germany.
However, Brice stated that the numbers still don’t indicate a massive flux and that the country is in a position to handle the situation.
Obvious reasons for Albanian citizens leaving their home country include high unemployment, small income which in some cases is lower than the social benefits as asylum seekers in Germany, lack of trust in state institutions perceived as corrupt and inefficient, real or perceived lack of job perspectives and unrealistic expectations compared to income in Western European countries, according to 2016 study conducted Tirana-based Cooperation and Development Institute.
An ultimatum by France and the Netherlands that visa could be unilaterally introduced unless measures to prevent the influx are taken, Albanian authorities tightened borderer controls since last summer and said they have noticed a positive result in preventing excessive asylum requests.
Moreover, the chances of Albanians to gain asylum status in France are now very small.
This was stressed during a meeting between Albanian Foreign Minister Ditmir Bushati and French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb last July. The main reason for Albanians’ continuous repatriations is that Albania is considered a safe country of origin by asylum seeking standards.
Emmanuel Macron, elected French President last May, has said France is a welcoming land for refugees and that he wanted to take them off the streets by the end of 2017. However, his goal was not fulfilled, while complaints concerning police brutality are occasionally reported by French media.
The case that recently shook the Albanian public was the death of Albanian asylum seeker in France, Florenc Beqiraj. Beqiraj’s death was reported a suicide by French authorities, however family members believe the 23-year-old’s death was the result of violence while awaiting deportation.
