FYROM’s Schengen Complex

By Maklen Misha
As far as traveling and visas go Albania has a long history of making concessions to other countries without them bothering to reciprocate. Thus travelers from many countries in the world have no need to waste time and money by applying for visas in Albanian embassies. They simply have to pay a small border tax upon arrival in Albania and voila, it’s all done. And that is how it should be, although Albania’s citizens are rarely that lucky, especially when it comes to traveling to Western countries. But at least Albanians took some consolation from the fact that they could travel to a few places in the world without having to go through that most frustrating of ordeals: a visa application. One of those countries was the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, whose government suddenly, in early 2008 decided that as far as visas go it wanted to become part of the EU at least in spirit, if not in deed. And thus it decided to impose as strict a visa regime on Albanians wanting to travel to FYROM as any self-respecting EU country does.
There had been rumors of such a move by Skopje for a few months already, but the decision when it came was still greeted with bewilderment and perplexity especially if one bears in mind the fact that the Visa Facilitation Agreement between Albania and the EU is now entering into force. The question on everyone’s lips was: Why and why now? It baffled and irritated most Albanians, on both sides of the border, and quite a few ethnic Macedonians too. The reason for the decision: well, lo and behold! FYROM sees itself as a candidate country and as such it has to impose a stricter visa regime on ‘problematic’ countries, lagging behind in the integration process, such as Albania, in line with demands from Brussels, for stricter border control etc, etc, etc.
Now, one has but to look at a map of the Balkans to understand that such an explanation holds no water. It is after all hard to imagine Albanians traveling illegally to EU countries through FYROM and there is as yet no great demand from Albanians wanting to migrate to Bulgaria. Furthermore although FYROM is indeed one step ahead of Albania in its EU integration bid – having gained candidate status – both countries are actually very much in the same boat, although FYROM might be seating a bit closer to the bow. One could actually claim that FYROM faces a few quite intractable obstacles in the road ahead – what with the name and all – that could well make its accession to NATO or the EU rather more complicated than that of Albania, not to speak of fulfilling the economic and legal criteria Skopje still need to fulfill or the not so rosy picture painted by the latest European Commission Progress Report for FYROM on the pace of reforms for 2007.
The decision becomes even harder to fathom if one considers the reaction to it by the significant Albanian population of FYROM and the close family, business and friendship links that exist between the Albanian communities that straddle the state border. Tensions between the two communities in FYROM have now significantly subsided, but it would be a mistake to take interethnic harmony for granted. It does indeed need nurturing and such a move, in the wake of several other not so wise decisions taken by the Macedonian majority, e.g. on forbidding the Albanians flying their national flag, could well be interpreted as a conscious provocation which puts a big question mark on the progress of ethnic reconciliation in the country. Proponents of this theory find an additional argument in support of their claim in the fact that no such decision has been taken vis-ஶis Serbia, which is after all way behind Albania as far as its EU integration is concerned.
There is also an additional, economic consideration that makes this decision seem very strange. Albanians can travel to very few countries in the world for tourism and FYROM has long been an important destination. Last year some 220,000 Albanians traveled to FYROM for their summer holidays or for skiing in the winter, injecting millions of Euros into the local economy of Ohrid, Struga, Mavrovo and a host of other places. Besides the beautiful nature and good service these areas provide, one of the main attractions was precisely the ease with which one could travel there. In light of the new visa regime it is doubtful whether many will do so in 2008. Judging from the reactions of businessmen from these areas – Albanians and Macedonians – it seems they too realize that this move could prove seriously detrimental to the economy.
To make a long story short, it is really hard to see the logic behind this latest decision by Skopje. As any ordinary citizen of Albania who has ever had the misfortune to need a visa can confirm, the stress related to such a procedure is akin to taking maturity exams while having as much certainty on a successful outcome as one has on winning the lottery. It is doubtful whether many citizens of Albanian think FYROM is really worth the trouble. It is even harder to see what FYROM can gain from it, but this being the Balkans one should not necessarily expect decisions to be taken based on sound, pragmatic calculations rather than on irrational impulses borne of complexes of superiority or inferiority, as the case may be. And lately Skopje has been taking several such decisions that have certainly not helped improve relations with its neighbors, suffice it to mention the absurd row with Greece about the statue of Alexander the Great. As an Albanian on the other hand, one can only hope that Albania’s government will show the maturity and pragmatism Skopje seems to lack by not reciprocating its move, as it would not be in anyone’s interest.