Undue political pressure by the Commission on Western Balkan countries

5.12.2011

Question for written answer E-011787/2011
to the Commission
Rule 117
Monika Flašíková Beňová (S&D)

The Commission has called on the Western Balkan countries to stem the flow of asylum-seekers into the EU. What this means, however, is that those countries are continually compelled to violate the human rights and fundamental freedoms of a particularly vulnerable social group. They are being subjected to extraordinary political pressure by the Commission and Member States. The Commission, for example, sent a document to Serbia and Macedonia in 2010 urging them to take effective measures to prevent the exodus of asylum-seekers from their territory to EU Member States. Failure to comply with the measures called for could, according to the Commission, jeopardise liberalisation of the EU visa arrangements applied to Western Balkan countries.

Does the Commission think it right to exert political pressure in this extreme form?

OJ C 285 E, 21/09/2012