Eurasia Press & News
The Commission has confirmed reports that citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an EU hopeful for which Brussels lifted visa requirements in November 2010, could again be subjected to the cumbersome procedure, due to the large number of asylum-seekers from this country.
Following reports in the local press that the EU might re-introduce visas for citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Michele Cercone, spokesperson of Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström, confirmed that the EU executive was closely monitoring the increase of asylum-seekers.
The EU countries which have recently experienced increases are Germany, Belgium, Sweden and Luxembourg, he said.
Visa liberalisation is one of the greatest achievements in the process of European integration for the Western Balkans countries and Commissioner Malmström is personally committed to upholding the visa liberalisation process, Cercone said.
Therefore, he said that she was very concerned about the increase in the number of unfounded asylum applications to the EU from nationals of Bosnia and Herzegovina and some other Western Balkan countries.
It should be clear that if some of the countries in the Western Balkans do not meet their commitments and do not properly and quickly address the concerns of EU member countries as regards the increasing number of unfounded asylum applications, the achievements of visa liberalisation might be put at risk, he stressed.
