Serbia abolishes the visa waiver for Tunisia and Burundi – what the Austrian interior minister sees as a “first step towards tightening visa rules in the Western Balkans and aligning them with the EU”.
“The talks of Chancellor Karl Nehammer with the Serbian government resulted in a breakthrough. Serbia has agreed to tighten visa rules for third countries. Now that a first step has been taken, more should follow,” Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) said in a statement to Krone on Friday.
The crime of human trafficking in the Western Balkans had escalated recently. According to the authorities, more and more people who do not stand a chance of asylum are being brought to Europe. Particularly in the case of asylum applications from people from India and Tunisia – some 20,500 in Austria so far this year – the Interior Ministry expects the curve to flatten once Serbia tightens its visa rules further.
Chancellor Nehammer (ÖVP), Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán met in Budapest in early October to discuss joint action against the increasing influx of refugees.
Serbia already decided on Thursday to lift visa-free travel for Burundi and Tunisia. For Burundi it will start ‘immediately’, for Tunisia a period of 30 days still applies, the ministry said on Friday. For Austria, the phasing out of visa-free access for Tunisians to Serbia is particularly important.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
