"Too many asylum seekers come from Serbia"

European Parliament (EP) Rapporteur Tanja Fajon has said that there are too many asylum seekers from Serbia in certain EU countries. According to her, this could jeopardize Serbia’s visa-free regime. "Too many asylum seekers come from Serbia" “MEPs are angry with interior ministers and the presiding country, Denmark, because of their intention to change the Schengen rules and fortify internal borders because they believe that it directly interferes with the citizens’ freedom of movement,” she told daily Vecernje novosti. “It is very dangerous to question the Schengen because the freedom of movement is a symbol of Europe and integrations,” Fajon explained. On the other hand, drafting of a process that would allow suspension of the visa-free regime due to high numbers of false asylum seekers and which directly concerns Serbia is underway, the daily writes. Fajon explained that the suspension mechanism would allow a possibility to suspend a country’s visa-free regime for six and nine months and that it could later be returned to the “black list”. “This will apply to all third countries that violate the rules, not only the Western Balkans. The final document is currently being drafted in the European institutions,” she noted. According to her, the EP has managed to secure certain liberalizations for the future suspension mechanism. “The working document envisages quotas of asylum seekers and exceeding of the quotas would automatically introduce suspension. We have managed to scrap percentages from the document. The suspension will now apply to an ‘extremely higher number of asylum seekers’ that affects the entire immigrant situation in a country. But in any case, one should be careful. Serbia still has an excessive number of asylum seekers, especially in Switzerland, Sweden and Germany,” Fajon was quoted as saying. Vecernje novosti

"Too many asylum seekers come from Serbia"

“MEPs are angry with interior ministers and the presiding country, Denmark, because of their intention to change the Schengen rules and fortify internal borders because they believe that it directly interferes with the citizens’ freedom of movement,” she told daily Večernje novosti.

“It is very dangerous to question the Schengen because the freedom of movement is a symbol of Europe and integrations,” Fajon explained.

On the other hand, drafting of a process that would allow suspension of the visa-free regime due to high numbers of false asylum seekers and which directly concerns Serbia is underway, the daily writes.

Fajon explained that the suspension mechanism would allow a possibility to suspend a country’s visa-free regime for six and nine months and that it could later be returned to the “black list”.

“This will apply to all third countries that violate the rules, not only the Western Balkans. The final document is currently being drafted in the European institutions,” she noted.

According to her, the EP has managed to secure certain liberalizations for the future suspension mechanism.

“The working document envisages quotas of asylum seekers and exceeding of the quotas would automatically introduce suspension. We have managed to scrap percentages from the document. The suspension will now apply to an ‘extremely higher number of asylum seekers’ that affects the entire immigrant situation in a country. But in any case, one should be careful. Serbia still has an excessive number of asylum seekers, especially in Switzerland, Sweden and Germany,” Fajon was quoted as saying.