Serbia has introduced visas for citizens of Tunisia and Burundi after mounting pressure from the EU. The news was confirmed by the European Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement, Oliver Varhelyi, who welcomed Serbia’s decision on Twitter. “We welcome that Serbia has taken an important step today to align with the EU’s list of third countries subject to visa requirements. We hope to see further improvements soon,” he wrote.
According to Euractiv, more than 106,000 irregular entries into the EU have been recorded this year through the Western Balkans route that includes Serbia. This represents an increase of 170% over the same period last year. Syrians and Afghans often have grounds to seek asylum in the EU, while many other nationalities “need to be returned to their country of origin,” Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said before a meeting of EU interior ministers in Luxembourg.
Asked by Euronews if the rise in border crossings could lead to an EU suspension of its visa-free deal with Serbia, Johansson answered that step is not excluded. “I do hope and I do think that Serbia and other Western Balkan partners will cooperate with us and align their visa policy with the EU,” she highlighted. “We have got promises that Serbia will align with our policies,” said Johansson.
Belgrade now requires visas for citizens of Burundi and for those from Tunisia from November 20. European Union interior ministers had discussed last week the high number of refugees and migrants arriving in the EU via the Balkan route. Federal Councillor Karin Keller-Sutter was pleased that Belgrade was willing to partially align its visa policy with that of the Schengen area. Keller-Sutter said that several states, including Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Belgium, had intervened with the European Commission and invited it to take measures.
Belga news agency reports that in Belgium the number of asylum applications from Burundi nationals multiplied by eight over the summer, from 34 in May to 263 requests in July. According to Belgian Foreigner’s Office, Burundians correspond to the third most numerous group seeking asylum in Belgium, after the Afghans and Syrians. Only in September, 553 Burundians applied for asylum in Brussels.
Belgium colonized Congo from 1885 to 1960 and Ruanda-Urundi (now Rwanda and Burundi) from 1916 to 1962. Today, Burundi is the poorest country in the world. UNICEF states that Burundi is suffering from several droughts in the Kirundo area and flooding across the rest of the country, all of them linked to climate change.
