The collaboration stems from a meeting last summer in Vienna, in which Minister of Foreign Affairs and Integration Mattias Tesfaye (S) participated.
– Austria asked if we would be part of a more committed cooperation to help. We have chosen to say yes to that, says Tesfaye.
In January, the government announced that it was allocating DKK 45 million from development aid to help countries in the Western Balkans return migrants and to strengthen border controls.
EU countries are finding it difficult to get rejected asylum seekers back. On average, 370,000 applications are rejected annually. Only one in three travels back, according to the European Commission. Most of these are voluntary.
The European Commission calls it “unsatisfactory” and this week circulated a proposal to make return policy more effective.
– The evaluation must be used to ensure that cooperation with third countries on returns works for all EU countries, and not just for some, and that all member countries deliver on returns, writes the European Commission.
Tesfaye says the authorities in the Western Balkans are undertaking a huge task on behalf of the EU.
– From the Danish side, we try to say that we have very low asylum numbers. We therefore have lower costs and a surplus to try to help countries along the migration routes.
Assistance with repatriation can take place through the agreements that individual countries have with countries where the migrants come from. According to the Minister, it is different from EU country to EU country which third countries you have good agreements with.
“If you have an agreement with a third country that a plane lands at their airport with their citizens, then there may be people on board the plane who have stayed in different European countries,” he says.
In addition to support for repatriation, the countries will support the authorities in Balkan countries in dealing with the pressure that at times is from refugees and other migrants. They will also help protect refugees.
An experienced Austrian, Berndt Kรถrner, will lead the collaboration. Kรถrner is a former Deputy Director of the EU Border Agency (Frontex), where he has worked with migration in the Balkans, among other things.
Source: The Nordic Page