In late October, European leaders met to discuss the crisis that EU countries are facing due to their incapacity to provide the most basic human rights to people who are seeking international protection in their territory. They agreed on a 17 points plan that places emphasis on the Balkan route, and calls for “discouraging the movement of refugees or migrants” to other countries without informing the authorities, and much more.
On Thursday 19 November 2015, as part of interpreting this plan, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia have started barring entry to migrants, refugees and asylum seekers who are not from Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and in some cases Palestine. This specific type of border closure has not, however, been made explicit in the EU leader’s plan. Rather, supposedly legitimized through increased security concerns after the Paris attacks, this measurement has to be understood as one of the steps aimed at harmonizing “national and coordinated efforts to return migrants not in need of international protection” (point 11 of the plan). This is done by managing external borders and registration centers with additional support from Frontex, the EU external borders agency. Additionally, it has been reported that Macedonia has also started to build a fence to better control the movement of people crossing its territory. So, the governmental equation is simple: Another fence plus more Frontex makes less people. Easy math.
On Thursday 19 November 2015, as part of interpreting this plan, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia have started barring entry to migrants, refugees and asylum seekers who are not from Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and in some cases Palestine. This specific type of border closure has not, however, been made explicit in the EU leader’s plan. Rather, supposedly legitimized through increased security concerns after the Paris attacks, this measurement has to be understood as one of the steps aimed at harmonizing “national and coordinated efforts to return migrants not in need of international protection” (point 11 of the plan). This is done by managing external borders and registration centers with additional support from Frontex, the EU external borders agency. Additionally, it has been reported that Macedonia has also started to build a fence to better control the movement of people crossing its territory. So, the governmental equation is simple: Another fence plus more Frontex makes less people. Easy math.
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