Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has called on EU leaders to do more to prevent violence against migrants on the Balkan Route. Their staff reportedly has treated nearly 500 people with injuries inflicted by border authorities at the Serbian-Hungarian border since early 2021.
The European Union’s Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson has praised Serbia’s handling of migration, a day after Serbian authorities rounded up nearly 700 migrants and moved them to reception centers.
Berlin plans to reduce labor shortages by granting more work visas to people from the Western Balkan states. But unions worry that this could lead to lower wages and worse conditions for unskilled workers.
Stepping up deportations has been a key objective of Germany's coalition government. But the policy continues to suffer setbacks and it is particularly problematic in the city state of Berlin.
The Serbian Refugee and Migration Commissariat has reported current figures and those of last year, noting the time the migrants stayed and where they were from.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has sentenced the Hungarian government to almost €40,000 in damages for the death of a Syrian refugee. The incident occurred while he tried to cross from Serbia to Hungary by boat on the Tisza river in 2016.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has told a hearing of the joint committees of foreign affairs of the Lower House and foreign affairs and defence of the Senate that the Western Balkans are key for the migration.
The foreign ministers of Hungary and Serbia, Peter Szijjarto and Ivica Dacic, have met in Budapest to discuss ways to work together against new migrant flows.
Serbia's increasingly restrictive border policies are having an overall impact on the Balkan migration route. Austrian authorities say they have noted a significant drop of about 70% of people being intercepted while trying to enter the country using irregular means since mid-December.
The winter weather in Europe is making it even more difficult for migrants trying to get from Serbia to western Europe. But many are still braving the cold, waiting for a chance to cross the border, says DW's Idro Seferi.
The number of migrants entering the EU irregularly has continued to rise, according to the border agency Frontex. The largest number -- around 140,000 -- traveled through the Western Balkans.
The International Rescue Commmittee (IRC) has called for more humanitarian assistance and safe accommodation for all those fleeing war and persecution as winter approaches.