TIRANA, October 19 – Visas for Albanians will not be restored. This is the announcement made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday after the opposition’s accusations that the increase in the number of illegal immigrants who are passing through Albania and Serbia to seek asylum in the EU has brought the proposal to the negotiating table to suspend travel without visa in the Western Balkans.
As a matter of fact it was the portal SchengenVisaInfo.com which said that given that Serbia and Albania never fully aligned their overseas visa waiver lists with the EU, even though they enjoy visa-free travel in the bloc, according to the Czech EU Presidency this contributes to the increase in the number of irregular migrants entering the EU through this route.
But the Albanian foreign ministry does not mention the first source of the news; instead it cursed the opposition.
“During the last few days, in some media but also through the public reactions of some political forces, the news has spread about the possibility of suspending the visa-free regime for Albanian citizens as a result of the increase in the number of illegal immigrants who pass to the European Union through the so-called “Balkan route”, said the statement.
The Ministry stressed that this news is completely untrue. “There is no plan, no initiative, no document proposed by any EU member state and no discussion regarding the possibility of suspending the visa-free movement of Albanian citizens. This news seems to be simply the product of certain interests in a moment when in Brussels it is being discussed to find as soon as possible and without further unjustified delays the possibility to recognize the right of free movement to the citizens of Kosovo,” said the statement. /Argumentum.al
