The leaders of Slovakia, Hungary, and Serbia are set to convene on Tuesday to deliberate on fortifying the European Union's borders against unlawful migration, incorporating novel strategies, as per the Slovak government office's announcement on Monday.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, both known for their stringent stances on migration, will rendezvous with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Komarno, Slovakia, to explore methods to thwart illegal migration streams.
Collaboration with Serbia and other western Balkan nations is pivotal in curbing illegal migration flows, the Slovak government office emphasized. This entails bolstering border security measures, aiding partner countries in their asylum processes, and harmonizing visa policies with the European Union.
An inventive approach might involve external centers, colloquially termed hotspots, for processing asylum applications outside the EU, a practice currently being implemented, for instance, by Italy in partnership with Albania, the office noted. Italy has established an agreement for migrant processing in Albania, a model some European nations have considered emulating.
Last week, EU leaders convened and resolved to employ all available leverage to expedite the repatriation of those unlawfully entering the bloc. Serbia, not being an EU member, has historically served as a gateway for migrants traversing the Balkan route from the Middle East and North Africa.
However, the number of illegal crossings in the western Balkans has plummeted by 79% in the first nine months of this year to just under 17,000, nearly three times fewer than certain Mediterranean routes, according to Frontex, the border agency.
Since June, Hungary's police data indicates an uptick in the number of illegal migrants intercepted before or after crossing the border, with weekly figures surging into the hundreds. The peak was recorded at the end of September, when 531 individuals were thwarted from illegally crossing the border, and 394 were apprehended within Hungary's borders and returned to Serbia.
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