EU delegation slams Serbian travel agents promising asylum

(BUJANOVAC) - Travel agents that promise ethnic Albanians in Serbia and Macedonia a new life in Belgium and other countries are misleading would-be asylum-seekers, an EU delegation said Tuesday.

"The behaviour of some people who have told lies to the population of this area is really unacceptable," Belgian state secretary for immigration and asylum Melchior Wathelet said during a round table.

"There will be no gift of money or a house, not any compensation and they will have to come back to Serbia," he told the group of senior EU and Belgian officials and authorities from Serbia's impoverished Presevo valley.

Since the European Union lifted visa restrictions for Serbia and neighbouring Macedonia in December, Belgium has seen a sharp rise in asylum requests from ethnic Albanians from the Presevo valley and the region around Kumanovo across the border with Macedonia.

Local media and non-governmental organisations estimate that between some 5,000 to 10,000 people have left in search of a better life in Belgium and other EU countries since December.

According to figures from Belgium, 58 Albanians from Serbia and Macedonia sought asylum there in January and the number swelled to 330 in February.

The director of immigration and border issues at the European Commission, Jean-Louis De Brouwer, warned that if the relaxation of visas were abused the region would suffer.

"If after the visa liberalisation a major influx of Serbian immigrants was observed or a growing number of Serbians were granted (political) asylum ... that would not do any good for the country or any good for the region," he said.

He called for a number of short-term measures to stem the tide of Albanians such as an information campaign and a strong crackdown on fake travel agencies selling tickets based on promises of potential political asylum.

"We are asking the Serbian authorities to pass on the message that there is no possibility of asylum for economic refugees," Wathelet told AFP.