Only about 3,000 Albanians have traveled to the EU following the scrapping of visa requirements on December 15, dispelling fears of a mass influx of migrants. Data published by Albania's general directorate of police showed the majority of visits have been to neighbouring Greece, which hosts a large Albanian emigrant community, estimated at 600,000 residents and temporary guest workers.
EU officials had feared a repeat of the situation in Serbia and Macedonia after they joined the Schengen list, where thousands of poor ethnic Albanians and Roma headed by bus into the European Union to seek asylum.
Visiting Tirana on November 13, the EU Home Affairs Commissioner, Cecilia Malmstrom, warned Albanians that the EU might reconsider the visa regime if there was a sharp increase of asylum seekers in member states. “We hope you will take your luggage and travel into Europe, then return home and put pressure on your political class to fulfill the missing criteria for [Albania’s] EU integration,” Malmstrom told students at the European University of Tirana. “While you have the right to visit Stockholm or Brussels, you don’t have the right to settle or work there,” she warned.
Visa-free travel to the EU took effect on December 15, allowing Albanian citizens to travel to a total of 28 nations that are inside Europe’s borderless Schengen zone or aspire to join it. Travel agents said a significant share of reservations were from elderly couples visiting sons and daughters working in neighbouring Greece or Italy. To make the trip, Albanians must hold a biometric passport, have proof of health insurance and show they have enough money to cover the cost of travel and the visit. According to Albania’s Ministry of Interior, more than 1.2 million citizens had applied for the new biometric passports as of November 5.
EU officials had feared a repeat of the situation in Serbia and Macedonia after they joined the Schengen list, where thousands of poor ethnic Albanians and Roma headed by bus into the European Union to seek asylum.
Visiting Tirana on November 13, the EU Home Affairs Commissioner, Cecilia Malmstrom, warned Albanians that the EU might reconsider the visa regime if there was a sharp increase of asylum seekers in member states. “We hope you will take your luggage and travel into Europe, then return home and put pressure on your political class to fulfill the missing criteria for [Albania’s] EU integration,” Malmstrom told students at the European University of Tirana. “While you have the right to visit Stockholm or Brussels, you don’t have the right to settle or work there,” she warned.
Visa-free travel to the EU took effect on December 15, allowing Albanian citizens to travel to a total of 28 nations that are inside Europe’s borderless Schengen zone or aspire to join it. Travel agents said a significant share of reservations were from elderly couples visiting sons and daughters working in neighbouring Greece or Italy. To make the trip, Albanians must hold a biometric passport, have proof of health insurance and show they have enough money to cover the cost of travel and the visit. According to Albania’s Ministry of Interior, more than 1.2 million citizens had applied for the new biometric passports as of November 5.
News source: Balkan Insight link: article
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