EU warns Albania over new visa rules

TIRANA, Nov. 13 – The European Union’s commissioner for home affairs said that plans to drop visa requirements for Albania and Bosnia, starting Dec. 15, would be reconsidered if the new system was abused.
Cecilia Malmstroem said on a visit to Albania’s capital Tirana on Friday last week that action would only be taken in response to “systematic abuse” of the new, relaxed rules _ which will not grant Bosnians or Albanians the right to settle or work in EU countries.
The EU abolished visas for Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia last year. Several EU members say they have since seen a rise in illegal immigration from the three Balkan countries.
the European Union last week agreed to lift travel restrictions on Bosnia-Herzegovina and Albania. Previously, citizens of these two countries had to have a visa to travel to the European Union’s Schengen Zone; visa-free travel will come into effect in mid-December 2010.
Malmstroem made it clear that Albanians should not abuse with, or misuse the new visa-free regime which does not mean going to the western European countries to stay or work.
A minority of EU countries have expressed concerns over asylum seekers from Albania and Bosnia-Herzegovina, which were expressed by Belgian State Secretary for Migration and Asylum Melchior Wathelet, who also represented the Belgian EU Presidency. He was together with Malmstroem in Tirana.
He stated that “‘[t]he biggest problem would be, let’s say, ‘wrong’ asylum seekers [people with unfounded asylum claims] that would come to seek asylum within Europe based on economic reasons.'” If too many individuals from Tirana or Sarajevo came on these reasons, the EU would “…reintroduce visas.”Wathelet explained that it “…’doesn’t mean you can seek asylum, get money from member states, seek welfare support from the member states, or that you will be allowed to work in the EU.'”
Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia received visa-free travel rights within the Schengen Zone late last year. A large amount of asylum-seekers (mostly ethnic-Albanians from South Serbia, Kosovo-Albanians who claimed residence in South Serbia for Serbian passports, and ethnic-Albanians from Macedonia) subsequently came to the EU claiming economic hardship in their countries of origin, but they were sent back.
Wathelet said this experience had been “…’paradoxically’ helpful in preventing similar problems from arising with respect to Albania and Bosnia.”
Wathelet also took part at the first minutes of the celebrations that the Albanian government had organized Friday for the visa liberalization, postponing the start of the news conference.
Joyfully he also gave a gift to Malmstroem, a blue balloon writing “In Europe without visas.”
Both officials urged again Tirana to continue its public awareness on the new regime.