EU targets Balkan migration policies

Up to 50,000 migrants pass annually through Bosnia

By Alix Kroeger in Sarajevo

Senior European Union officials and representatives of five Balkan states are meeting in Sarajevo to discuss illegal migration from the Balkans to western Europe.

The EU wants to see more visa restrictions imposed.

The United Nations estimates that up to 50,000 illegal migrants pass through Bosnia alone each year.

Bosnia's minister of foreign affairs, Zlatko Lagumdzija, acknowledged there was a serious problem and said he would be presenting detailed proposals to deal with it.

Major channel

Bosnia's loose visa regime is one of the reasons why the country has become a back door for illegal migrants seeking to get to the West.

Yugoslavia, a major channel for Chinese migrants

Speaking after the opening session of the conference in Sarajevo, the Swedish Minister, Maj-Inger Klingvall, said delegates had discussed ways of harmonising Bosnia's visa regime with the EU.

She stressed the need to respect justice and human rights and she praised Bosnia's new government for its willingness to co-operate.

But the issues raised go beyond Bosnia alone - ministers from Yugoslavia, Croatia, Albania and Macedonia - are also attending the conference.

Yugoslavia is a major channel for migrants from China who do not need visas to enter the country.

Many of them transit through Bosnia or Hungary on their way to western Europe.

The EU ministers stressed the need for regional co-operation if the flow if illegal migrants is to be reduced.