The number of migrants traveling through the Western Balkans increased by 60% in 2022 compared to the previous year, an official from the International Organization for Migration said on Thursday.
This increase was reported by Florence Daniels, Deputy Director General of Operations of the IOM, who participated in a conference dedicated to migration in Sarajevo, according to vijesti.ba.
IOM’s annual report on migration trends in the Western Balkans says local authorities recorded 192,266 migrants in the region, an increase of 59.5% compared to 2021 and a huge spike of 348% compared to 2021. to 2018.
Countries in the region are on the Western Balkans migration route, and the report said most migrants come from Turkey to Greece and then move to the northwest of the region. He also pointed out that migrants, who previously spent weeks or months in local reception centers, “are now moving rapidly across the region, often within days.”
Bosnia and Herzegovina Interior Minister Nenad Nešić said at the Sarajevo conference that countries in the region would be united and united to address migration challenges.
“The criminal elements of the migration crisis are mainly visible in human trafficking, as well as arms and drug trafficking,” he said, according to vijesti.ba.
The Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU announcement On Thursday evening, EU ministers agreed on a general approach to the Asylum and Migration Management Regulation and the Asylum Procedure Regulation, the two main pillars of EU reform. EU asylum system, regulating how to share responsibility for receiving refugees and migrants. .
(Zoran Radosavljević | EURACTIV.com)