TIRANA, Oct. 18 – There are growing worries in Albania over the possibility that the visa-free regime with a Schengen Area is in jeopardy following reports from EU sources of alleged abuses.
Unlawful residency and unfounded asylum claims from some western Balkan states, as well as Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine, is triggering the suspension discussion, according to an internal EU document leaked late last month to the EUobserver.
However, Albanian experts believe a cancelling of the travel privilege is not an immediate risk.
“Considering the current Western Balkan countries EU accession status, especially the fact that EU accession is ‘de facto’ suspended for Albania — there is not yet a date for starting the respective negotiations — I don’t think there is an immediate danger of the EU suspending the visa-free regime for Albania,” said Zef Preci, executive director of the Albanian Center for Economic Research. “It’s because many people who wanted to leave Albania already have left the country.”
He added that Albanians and other Western Balkans nationalities involved in criminal activities in EU countries have no troubles with the visa regime being free or not.
“The most common abuses cited are unlawful residency and speculative asylum claims. This situation seems to be mostly linked with the poverty increase and COVID-19 impact, slow economic recovery, etc., on this part of the world,” Preci said, adding that other factors included “increasing autocratic tendencies and worsening of democracy and governance in the respective countries, and loss of hopes for a large portion of their citizens.”
Albania has enjoyed visa-free travel since 2010. The visa-free privilege is enjoyed by the entire region, with the exception of Kosovo.
Visa-free travel is viewed by the European Commission as a “significant achievement” in relations between the EU and the Western Balkans and was seen as one the biggest achievements for Albania’s government under the center right Democratic Party, which is now in opposition.
For many Albanians, Kosovo’s lack of visa-free travel serves as a stark reminder of the major travel difficulties they faced just a decade ago.
But according to the leaked document, some EU states are now so worried they are now actively discussing a “visa suspension mechanism.” A more than 50-percent increase in irregular stays, or applicants for asylum with low recognition rates, would be needed for the visas to be reimposed. Countries that refuse to take back their nationals can also see the return of visas.
In the document, as reported by EUobserver, Germany singled Albania and Serbia as among the top-10 problem countries. It registered spikes in “unauthorised residence offences” from Albania, Moldova, and Ukraine, although the number dropped during the pandemic.
