1

Fake asylum Seekers: product of Visa Liberalization Introduction Migration is a dynamic process which is multilevel and multidimensional. The phenomenon of migration is as old as humanity itself. People have been moving for variety of reasons, intentionally or not. They have been moving for different time periods. Some move often and for short time, some move once and for long and some are tied to their place of birth. Peoples movement and mobility have had impact on the development of society. Todays nation states have been formed as a result of peoples migration. Yet, economic and political policies, as well as cultural identity make migration much more than just a demographic phenomenon.1 Migration starts being more and more problematic. Borders, migration restrictions, passport controls, visas, fingerprints...they are all there to make sure movement of people is controlled. It seems that today a person does not have the possibility to choose to exercise the fundamental individual and human right to move. Movement today is all about control restriction and security. Migrations have become typical and common experiences for the people of SouthEastern Europe. Through history this region has been part of various empires and its integration in each of them has facilitated various peoples movements.2 The people of the Balkans have been involved in many of the guest work programmes in the 1960s and the 1970s. Migration has as well been a common experience after the collapse of the socialism. More recently this region has been part of partitions, wars and conflicts that have produced huge number of refugees, internally displaced persons and asylum seekers.

Jonathan Friedman and Shalini Randeria, eds. Worlds on the Move Globalization, Migration and Cultural Security (London: I.B. Taurus & Co Ltd, 2004) xiv 2 Klaus Roth and Robert Hayden, eds., Migration in, from, and to Southeastern Europe (Berlin: Lit, 2009)

However, not only the Balkans, but also the rest of the Europe has gone through changes especially after the Second World War. The countries of Western Europe in 1957 formed the European Economic Community. It originally consisted of six countries, to expand several times. Today the European Union has 27 members.3 In order to promote further integration as well as free movement of people and goods, the so called Schengen Zone was created. The Schengen Zone consists of 24 countries of EU, plus Iceland, Switzerland Norway.4 However, when erasing its inner borders, EU has paid much more attention to controlling and securing its outer borders, thus creating the Fortress Europe. For the countries of Southeast Europe especially after the fall of the socialism, the Fortress Europe closed its doors and required a special pass for them to be able to enter. Between 1990 and 2010 this has changed and all of the countries of Southeast Europe except for Kosovo are able to travel to the EU Schengen zone visa-free. However, all of them are treated differently in terms of the length of stay and the permitted activities in the EU, such as permanent residence, work, travel etc. This essay will deal especially with the process of being able to travel visa-free to the EU. Namely, it will explore what the visa liberalization regulation for five countries of Southeast Europe: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia that took place in 2009 and 2010 really means. I will argue that instead of increasing mobility, short term travels and better border control due to the biometric systems, it has actually increased the numbers of potential illegal immigrants that first appear as fake asylum seekers. I will support my argument by looking at the numbers of asylum seekers before and after the visa liberalisation. Moreover, although too early to make conclusions since it has been only 16 months of visa liberalisation for Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia, and 5 months for Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina, I
3 4

http://europa.eu/abc/history/index_en.htm http://www.civitas.org.uk/eufacts/FSEXR/EX2.htm

will try to look at the first impressions and the initial consequences both for the countries of the Western Balkans and the EU, that is the sending and the host countries. The essay is divided in several sections. First I will look at the relations between the EU and the Balkans in terms of borders and mobility, and then I will describe the road to visa liberalisation, finally to get the point where I can explain what visa liberalisation means and what the consequences are. Finally I will look at the reactions of the EU countries and their proposals for actions to be taken in future and how this might affect the region Moreover I will try to provide an explanation why the fake asylum seekers appear and how they are driven to only specific countries of the EU. Here I base my propositions on push-pull factors of migration and social networks model. In order to explain how and why the visa liberalisation has been misused I will use the theoretical concept of Zygmund Bauman, whose proposition is that in the todays society that is highly characterised by consumerism the people are stratified by their (in) ability to move. Founding my analysis on media reports and articles, since no studies have yet been produced by governments or authorities I will mainly focus on Macedonia and partly Serbia since it has been rather difficult to find information about the other countries of the region.

The EU and the Balkans After the fall of the socialism, the countries of the South-East Europe have all experienced a post-socialist transition to democracy. The countries of former Yugoslavia have gone through a period of border change, institution building, disappearance of common currency, no more common army, destruction of social capital and disappearance of the single economic

space.5 In the transformation from socialism to democracy each country has moved with different speeds. The Serbs, the Croats and the Bosniaks have experienced war until 1995 and Serbia was bombed by NATO in 1999. Macedonia went through an armed conflict in 2001 and Kosovo declared independence in 2008.Therefore even in the 20 years of transformation and transition the political conditions on the Balkans constantly shifted and changed. The ultimate goal of the countries of this region is joining the EU and accepting the European values. So, If one takes joining EU as a proof for being a democratic, and developed country, then Slovenia has won the race here by joining the EU in 2004. Bulgaria and Romania have done the same in 2007. For the rest of the countries, apart from Greece that has been part of the EU for long time the EU coined the term Western Balkans. This term involves the countries of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia.6 Apart from Albania, all of them are former federal states of Yugoslavia with Kosovo being a province in the south of Serbia and whose status is not definite at present. However, when referring to the Western Balkans in the rest of this essay, if not stated differently, I will refer to five countries of this region: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. I am taking out Kosovo and Croatia because Croatia has never been under the visa regime and Kosovo has not yet been through the visa liberalization process. The road to joining the EU involves lots of reforms these countries have to go through in many fields and on many levels. However, those are not the topic of this essay. This essay will deal with the European integration as a process built on the bases of cross-border interaction. 7

Denisa Kostovicova and Vesna Bojicic- Dzelilovic, eds. Transnationalism in the Balkans (Oxon: Routledge, 2008) 13 6 http://www.irishaid.gov.ie/western_balkans.asp 7 Denisa Kostovicova and Vesna Bojicic- Dzelilovic, eds. Transnationalism in the Balkans (Oxon: Routledge, 2008) 3

On the road to the EU the countries of the Western Balkans have encountered not only barriers of economic or political manner, but also physical barriers and borders that wouldnt let the people from the region exercise their right to move freely because they have been pushed back by various visa policies. Visa policy for the Western Balkans It is well established that the freedom to leave is a sine qua non for the institutionalization of liberal regimes and, more generally a requisite for other human rights. It is quite obvious, however that this would be a meaningless freedom in the absence of concomitant freedom to enter somewhere.8 During the times of Yugoslavia the citizens of the countries of what today is named as Western Balkans (without Albania) were able to move and travel freely. However, the change of the regime changed their right. The discourse of mobility for the former socialist countries rapidly shifted.9 From a being part of a country that knew for no borders, they became part of a country that gave them the right to leave, but gave them a very limited choice of where they can enter. The creation of the Schengen area in 1985 and the adoption of the Amsterdam Treaty in 1997 that incorporated the cooperation of the states of the EU in terms of regulating short-term stays within the EU, as well as asylum requests and border control, put the countries of the Western Balkans on the so called black visa list.10 Initially 134 countries were put on the black visa list, but the list has gone through several revisions. With adding two and removing 13 countries from the black visa list from 2001 to 2010, right now the black visa list consists of total
8

Mary M. Kritz, Charles B.Keely and Silvano M. Tomasi, eds., Global Trends in Migration: Theory and Research on International Population Movements (New York: The Center for Migration Studies, 1983) 27 9 Mark Keck- Szajbel, The Politics of Travel and the Creation of a European Society, Global Society 24 no.1 (2010):31 10 The Schengen area and cooperation 03.08.2009 http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/justice_freedom_security/free_movement_of_persons_asylum_immigration/l 33020_en.htm

number of 123 countries.11 The black and the white visa lists divide the world into two. They make dichotomy of a category of individuals that are trustworthy, thus allowed to travel freely, and a category of individuals that pose danger to the security and safety of the EU.12 The citizens of the Western Balkans were put exactly in the category of individuals that are suspicious and dangerous. Not being able to travel freely and being put on the black (negative) Schengen visa list they felt that they are not considered citizens of Europe, because they are being denied one of the fundamental rights upon which the EU was founded: Freedom of movement.13 The road to visa liberalization For the countries of the Western Balkans it is important to be able to move freely in a context that they are able to exercise their fundamental human rights and freedoms without the feeling of being regarded as second or third class citizens and isolated in the Balkan ghetto. On the Thessaloniki Summit in 2003 the EU made a rhetorical commitment that it is the time to move towards more liberal visa regime that will eventually remove the visa barrier.14 The path towards visa liberalization and eventual accession is only open to those countries who implement major reforms in areas such as the strengthening of the rule of law, combating organised crime, corruption and illegal migration and the strengthening of their administrative capacity in border control and security of documents.15

The steps towards visa liberalization for Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia started in 2006 with negotiations for the Visa Facilitation and Readmission Agreements. After they have come in force in January 2008, Serbia opened the visa
11

Mogens Hobolth, Wanted and unwanted travelers: explaining similarities and differences in European visa practices, (work in progress paper, London School of Economics and Political Science, 2011) 5 12 Ibid.10 13 Goran Svilanovic and Jelena Milic, Open up Sesame! Helsinki Monitor 17 (2006): 226 14 Ibid.233 15 Commission of the European Communities, Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION amending Regulation 539/2001, COM (2009) 366 final 2009/0104 (CNS), Brussels, 2009, 3

liberalization dialogue the same month, Macedonia and Montenegro in February, Albania in April and Bosnia in May 2008. In May 2008 each country was handed the Roadmap for visa liberalization which is a tailor made programme for each country of the Western Balkans and it includes the requirements for the final visa liberalization. Each country had to fulfil requirements related to document security, illegal migration, public order and security, and external relations. Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia were granted visa-free travel up to 90 days in the Schengen Area on December 16th 2009, and Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina followed on November 8th the following 2010. With the visa liberalization Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia progressed from the group third country nationals on the negative (black) visa list16 to the group of third country nationals on the positive (white) visa list17. It is certain that the visa liberalization has had impacts on these countries. It is technically the first real step towards integration within the European Union. Moreover what is expected from the visa liberalization is that the movements of people would contribute toward economic and social development and [will} contribute to understanding among cultures and to democratization trends.18 Yet, there is an important question that needs to be addressed: what exactly are the consequences of the visa liberalisation for the countries of the Western Balkans and for the European Union. Did all of a sudden the people from this five countries started to move and travel, or things didnt change significantly. The following section will address exactly
16

According to the EU rules, the Group 3 is the group of third country nationals that require a Schengen Uniform Visa to enter the EU for visits up to three months see Ryszard Cholewinski, Borders and Discrimination in the European Union (Brussels: Migration Policy Group, 2002) 17 According to the EU rules, the Group 2 is the group of third country nationals that doesnt require a visa to enter the EU for visits up to three months 18 Goran Svilanovic and Jelena Milic, Open up Sesame! Helsinki Monitor 17 (2006): 228

that question, arguing that the visa wall followed by the visa liberalisation has put the citizens of the Western Balkans within the categories of tourists and vagabonds, although probably more vagabonds than tourists and the visa liberalization hasnt changed that situation. Namely, the visa liberalization has produced more vagabonds than tourists. Theorizing visa liberalization: the vagabonds of the Western Balkans According to Bauman, today we live in a postmodern consumer society. This society is stratified and polarized according to the degree of mobility. On one side of the pole there are the ones who want to be on the move. Those are the tourists. For the tourists the space doesnt matter. They can move whenever they want to, for as long as they want to. On the other side of the pole are the vagabonds. Their life is a post-modern version of slavery. In their time nothing ever happens. All they want to is to be able to become tourists. That is their agenda. 19 When thinking about the Schengen wall, the visa regime, European Union and Western Balkans, it is an easy task to place the citizens of Western Europe in the category of vagabonds. They are tied locally because of their inability to move. However, their ultimate goal is indeed to be able to be mobile and become tourists. Objectively, with the breaking of the Schengen wall and the visa liberalization, one may argue that the most important condition towards transformation into tourists has been fulfilled. The vagabonds can officially become tourists. Although the borders are there, crossing them is so much easier than before. However, this is not exactly the case. It is true that they are able to move freely and travel in the countries of the EU Schengen zone. Yet, I argue that they still remain vagabonds in the most basic meaning of the term. They do move, but only rarely for the sake of tourism. They now move only to pretend to be asylum seekers. Isnt this even worse form of vagabonds?! They beg now not in front of the
19

Zygmunt Bauman, Globalization: The Human Consequences (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1998) 77-102

doors of the EU, but inside its backyard for a life that will eventually bring them on the scale of tourists. Although there is no study on the case yet since it is rather recent, numerous newspaper articles from the Western Balkans, but also internationally report on rapidly increased number of asylum seekers mainly from Macedonia and Serbia. Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina are still not in the game because of two reasons. One, it has been less than six months since they got the visa liberalization, and two, they might be learning from the experience of their neighbours. In the case of Macedonia, both domestic and international media have portrayed the Balkan false asylum seekers as vagabonds. Namely, one of the largest national TV station in Macedonia A1 constantly reports on the increased number of asylum seekers. According to an online article of May 2010 they report the number of asylum seekers in Sweden has doubled.20 In September 2010 the same TV station reports that up to March 2010, 250 Macedonian citizens have filed asylum applications in Switzerland which puts them on the third place of asylum seekers in that country. In Lichtenstein 40 Macedonian citizens have asked for asylum which puts them on the top of the list.21 Moreover, not only media, but also official reports state the increased number of asylum seekers. According to report issued by UNHCR in the period from 2009 to 2010 the number of asylum seekers from Serbia has increased for 54%. Increase of 599% has been registered for asylum seekers from Macedonia.22 The increase of 599% is striking, so one is not going to be wrong to ask, why false asylum seekers? What are the reasons for taking such a risk, and why asylum in specific countries such as Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and Scandinavia?
20

19.05.2010 at http://www.a1.com.mk/vesti/default.aspx?VestID=123328 accessed 13.04.2011 translated by the author 21 , 13.09.2010 http://www.a1.com.mk/vesti/default.aspx?VestID=127355 accessed 16.04.2011 translated by the author 22 UNHCR, Asylum Levels and Trends in Industrialized Countries 2010: Statistical Overview of asylum applications lodged in Europe and selected non-European countries, Geneva, 2011

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I offer two explanations: the first one is the push-pull model and the second one is the theory of social networks. According to the push-pull model [s]omething "pushes" migrants away from their original homes. Something "pulls" them to their new home.23 The Western Balkan countries are still in a period of transition. They are what Chomsky would call weak states, still in a process of development and with high rates of unemployment. According to UNDP the unemployment rates in the Western Balkans in 2004 are between 22 % and 50%.24 Since the situation hasnt changed drastically, the high levels of unemployment, the low earnings and the underdeveloped economy certainly are factors that push the citizens of the Western Balkans to try their luck as fake asylum seekers. Now the question is what are the pull factors, since the citizens of these countries should know that the visa liberalization means only easier movement for touristic and study visit purposes, but not for permanent migration. However, the general public does not make difference between asylum seekers, non-European economic migrants and economic migrants from the new accession States. 25 It is very unlikely that the citizens from Serbia, Macedonia, Albania or Bosnia and Herzegovina who are mainly low skilled workers living in unbearable conditions in the poorest areas of these countries would be able to make a distinction between these categories. Being promised nicer places to live and amounts of money they have probably never seen in their lives they decide to take an action and become false asylum seekers, looking for a better future. Those are the factors that pull them to the host countries.

23 24

http://www.jaha.org/edu/discovery_center/push-pull/peopling_pa01.html europeandcis.undp.org/.../MDG_Fact_Sheets-SoutheastEurope_13-06-06.doc 25 Carl Levy, Refugees Europe, Camps/State of Exception: Into the Zone, the European Union and extraterritorial processing of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers (theories and practice), Refugee Survey Quarterly 29, no.1 (2010):105

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The second explanation I offer is that false asylum seekers have appeared because of social networks and institutionalization of migration. Nevertheless, this offers only partial and not very convincing explanation. Numerous scholars have emphasized the importance of kin and friendship networks in shaping and sustaining migration26 However, although the main destination for Macedonian asylum seekers has been Belgium, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Macedonia hasnt registered any Macedonian association there27. This means that the networks used are completely informal, based on friends and family. It is true that the information about the welfare systems in the countries of destination and the way the asylum seekers are treated comes from people who are already there. One of the theories produced by the media is that the Albanian Diaspora in Brussels has spread a rumour that the asylum seekers are entitled to financial aid.28 Another theory is that the large number of asylum seekers, both in Macedonia and Serbia has been linked to travel scams. According to the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees people in Macedonia and Serbia have been encouraged to buy one way bus tickets to Germany because they are told that in Germany it will be easy to earn money and cover the initial costs. The same thing is happening in Belgium and Sweden.29 However, if these are only rumours or propaganda is yet to be discovered. Further research will either confirm or reject my social network explanation. The response of the EU The major aims of EU asylum policy have been the control of spontaneous movement into the Union and the prevention of secondary movement once asylum seekers have entered its
26

Mary M. Kritz, Lin Lean Lim and Hania Zlotnik (eds.), International Migration Systems A Global Approach (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992)150 27 Government of the Republic of Macedonia , Resolution on Migration Policy of Republic of Macedonia, 2008 28 Nikolaj Nielsen, One asylum seeker in Belgium: Part Three, 22.02.2011, www.opendemocracy.net/print/58202 29 High Number of Serbian asylum seekers linked to travel sca m www.dwworld.de/dw/article/0,,14745289,00.html

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border.30 The countries of EU have all tightened their domestic laws on asylum seekers.31 This makes it impossible for them to enter the labour market, which is very often the intention of the false asylum seekers that come from countries such as Serbia or Macedonia. The problem of the vagabonds wanting to be tourists has been acknowledged both by the International Community, that is the EU and especially by the countries that have faced large numbers of false asylum seekers. Moreover it has been brought to attention to the countries that are the main producers of vagabonds, Macedonia and Serbia. When the increase of asylum seekers is 600% it is hard not to take action. Belgium, France, Germany, Sweden, Norway and all of the other countries that have faced increased number of asylum seekers from Macedonia and Serbia after considering their applications they have deported them, since they have no basis to seek asylum. Norway has implemented a system for fast consideration of asylum applications from citizens of the Western Balkans so they get a response back in a 48-hour period.32 Titles such as: Belgium sends hundreds of asylum seekers from Serbia and Macedonia, Rejected asylum-seekers return to Macedonia from France etc., constantly appear in the media. Moreover, Macedonian media have reported that the EU will implement mechanisms to control the migration waves from the Western Balkans, and that EU seriously considers bringing back the restricting visa policies. The possible return of the visa restriction for the vagabonds of the Western Balkans would be a complete discouragement that they will ever become tourists. They will go a step back to being tight to where they are and not being able to move outside of the country borders. The situation will be devastating not only for
30

Carl Levy, Refugees Europe, Camps/State of Exception: Into the Zone, the European Union and extraterritorial processing of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers (theories and practice), Refugee Survey Quarterly 29, no.1 (2010):106 31 Ibid p.105 32 The Directorate of Immigration 11.03.2010 http://www.udi.no/Norwegian-Directorate-ofImmigration/News/2010/Asylum-applications-from-Serbia-Macedonia-and-Montenegro-is-processed-in-48-hours/

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the people, but also for the already fragile political situation in the countries of the Western Balkans. Serbia and Macedonia has responded to this issue by official statements and promises of the governments that they will act by improving the border controls, and implement more aggressive information campaigns that will provide the potential asylum seekers with information on visa liberalisation. It is yet to see if these actions will be taken and how effective will they be. Conclusion Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia in 2009, and Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2010 have finally, after 20 years, gone out of the period of isolation in an age of globalisation.33 The visa-liberalization could be considered as a win-win situation, both for the Western Balkans and the European Union. On one hand the people from the Western Balkans can travel visa-free and on the other hand the countries from the Western Balkans have gone step further in the EU integration and in stabilizing the region by carrying out significant reforms in terms of corruption, organised crime, illegal migration and security. EU certainly benefits from these reforms as well. 34 According to the report 168 of the International Crisis group on visa barriers, the visa barriers serve as an opportunity for organized crime and corruption, and not as a protection of them. The majority of those who are supposed to benefit from free movement are not being able to do the same.35 This statement is logical, since it is true that visas restrict the ability to move. However, my earlier analysis, although very limited has shown that although visa liberalisation

33 34

Goran Svilanovic and Jelena Milic, Open up Sesame! Helsinki Monitor 17 (2006): 234 Gerald Knaus and Alekxandra Stiglmayer, Visa -free travel for the Western Balkans a win-win situation, 15.06.2009, http://euobserver.com/15/28298 35 Goran Svilanovic and Jelena Milic, Open up Sesame! Helsinki Monitor 17 (2006): 233

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has allowed the people of the Western Balkans to travel visa free, they still cannot take advantage and benefit from it. What happens is that the borders are not open only for organised crime and corruption, but also for people who are looking for a way to escape from the Europes outcast. So now EU has to deal not only with the organised crime, drugs and human trafficking from the Balkans, but also with false asylum seekers. Therefore the Western Balkans remains on the bottom of the Baumans mobility continuum. Although the barriers are gone, the immobility is present on the Balkans. The mobility that is given is being misused. This essay has had a double function. First it described the relations between the Western Balkans and the EU, moving on to the process that has led this region towards visa liberalisation. Apart from describing this process, in this essay I have also attempted to analyse the effects of the visa liberalization, proposing that it might have brought more harm than good in terms of dramatic increase of asylum seekers who have no grounds to be granted asylum. Moreover, I have looked at factors that might have led this increasing number of people from the region to seek asylum. I have proposed two explanations. One is that the citizens of the Western Balkans are pushed to flee from their countries of origin, pulled by fake promises and impossible expectations. The second, less plausible explanation was that the asylum seekers would expect their formal or informal networks to help them once they are in the host country. However, since rather short period has passed after the visa liberalization it is impossible to make a generalized picture of the consequences both for the Western Balkans and the European Union. Numbers have shown that there is an initial trend of increased number of asylum seekers that has been present and talked about not only in the domestic but also in the international media. Moreover UNHCR reports confirm the asylum seekers increase. Although I have worked with limited resources, mainly newspaper articles and lack of case studies and

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official reports, I still consider my argument that the vagabonds have remained vagabonds and havent transformed into tourists valid. Baumans proposition that it is the degree of mobility that stratifies the society still makes sense. In order to conclude Id like to propose that this issue needs to be addressed quickly both by the academia and the governments and policy makers. If the real reasons why the number of asylum seekers is rapidly increasing are known it will be easier to tackle the issue. Furthermore finding a solution to the misusing of the visa liberalization can serve as basis for regional cooperation, especially with Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina that were granted visa liberalization only less than a half a year ago. The studies will also help the authorities to provide more appropriate information on visa policies and migration and address the issue properly. The lack of information on migration as phenomenon and on migration laws and policies ...presents a challenge to citizens and governments alike and needs to be overcome.36 Therefore the consequences of the visa liberalisation in due course ask for future actions. More detailed case studies, more involvement by the authorities, understanding the issues that lead towards fake asylum seeking as well as addressing them, providing information campaigns on short term travels and permanent migration to the EU are only few o the things that have to be done in order for the Western Balkans not to lose the small bit of free movement rights that it has been given. Moreover, if the Western Balkans keep up the work that it has been doing in order to achieve complete integration with the EU, this will mean economic development, less unemployment and higher living standard. Achieving those goals will eventually give the citizens of the Western Balkans the real conditions to transform from vagabonds to tourists. At that point they can use the mobility continuum in order to prosper in the society. They can use freely the opportunity to
36

Ibid., 228

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be mobile whenever they want to, wherever they want to and for as long as they want to. The ultimate liberal goal of everyone being able to move with no restrictions will be a step closer to becoming real.

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References: (i) Zygmunt Bauman, Globalization: The Human Consequences (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1998) Ryszard Cholewinski, Borders and Discrimination in the European Union (Brussels: Migration Policy Group, 2002) Denisa Kostovicova and Vesna Bojicic- Dzelilovic, eds. Transnationalism in the Balkans (Oxon: Routledge, 2008) Jonathan Friedman and Shalini Randeria, eds. Worlds on the Move Globalization, Migration and Cultural Security (London: I.B. Taurus & Co Ltd, 2004) Klaus Roth and Robert Hayden, eds., Migration in, from, and to Southeastern Europe (Berlin: Lit, 2009) Mary M. Kritz, Charles B.Keely and Silvano M. Tomasi, eds., Global Trends in Migration: Theory and Research on International Population Movements (New York: The Center for Migration Studies, 1983) Mary M. Kritz, Lin Lean Lim and Hania Zlotnik (eds.), International Migration Systems A Global Approach (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992) Carl Levy, Refugees Europe, Camps/State of Exception: Into the Zone, the European Union and extraterritorial processing of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers (theories and practice), Refugee Survey Quarterly 29, no.1 (2010):92-119 Goran Svilanovic and Jelena Milic, Open up Sesame! Helsinki Monitor 17 (2006): 226243 Mark Keck- Szajbel, The Politics of Travel and the Creation of a European Society, Global Society 24 no.1 (2010):31-50 Mogens Hobolth, Wanted and unwanted travelers: explaining similarities and differences in European visa practices, (work in progress paper, London School of Economics and Political Science, 2011) Commission of the European Communities, Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION amending Regulation 539/2001, COM (2009) 366 final 2009/0104 (CNS), Brussels, 2009 Government of the Republic of Macedonia , Resolution on Migration Policy of Republic of Macedonia, 2008

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UNHCR, Asylum Levels and Trends in Industrialized Countries 2010: Statistical Overview of asylum applications lodged in Europe and selected non-European countries, Geneva, 2011 The Directorate of Immigration 11.03.2010 http://www.udi.no/Norwegian-Directorateof-Immigration/News/2010/Asylum-applications-from-Serbia-Macedonia-andMontenegro-is-processed-in-48-hours/ [accessed 16.04.2011] Gerald Knaus and Alekxandra Stiglmayer, Visa-free travel for the Western Balkans a win-win situation, 15.06.2009, http://euobserver.com/15/28298 [accessed on 14.04.2011] Nikolaj Nielsen, One asylum seeker in Belgium: Part Three, 22.02.2011, www.opendemocracy.net/print/58202 [accessed 13.04.2011] The Schengen area and cooperation, 03.08.2009 http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/justice_freedom_security/free_movement_of_per sons_asylum_immigration/l33020_en.htm [accessed 15.04.2011] High Number of Serbian asylum seekers linked to travel scam, www.dwworld.de/dw/article/0,,14745289,00.html [accessed 13.04.2011] , , 13.09.2010 http://www.a1.com.mk/vesti/default.aspx?VestID=127355 [accessed 16.04.2011] (Irina Galevska, Lichteinstain and Switzerland most attractive for the Macedonian aylum-seekers) , 19.05.2010 at http://www.a1.com.mk/vesti/default.aspx?VestID=123328 [accessed 13.04.2011] (The number of Macedonian asylum seekers in Sweden doubled) http://europa.eu/abc/history/index_en.htm [accessed 15.04.2011] http://www.civitas.org.uk/eufacts/FSEXR/EX2.htm [accessed 15.04.2011] http://www.irishaid.gov.ie/western_balkans.asp [accessed 15.04.2011] http://www.jaha.org/edu/discovery_center/push-pull/peopling_pa01.html [accessed 16.04.2011] europeandcis.undp.org/.../MDG_Fact_Sheets-SoutheastEurope_13-06-06.doc [accessed 16.04.2011]

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