Justice minister concerned about rising migration through Balkans
The numbers of refugees and migrants coming to Western Europe via the Balkans have again “risen sharply”, including to Switzerland, Justice Minister Karin Keller-Sutter said on Tuesday.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA/jc
Português
pt
Ministra da Justiça preocupada com aumento da migração pelos Bálcãs
“People fly to Belgrade and come to Austria with smugglers via Hungary, and then continue their journey,” said the minister, who attended a ministerial conference on migration in Sarajevo on Tuesday. The Swiss government says the conference is aimed at “strengthening cooperation and extending support to the countries affected”, according to a press releaseExternal link.
While Switzerland is a transit country for many migrants, the numbers of asylum seekers have nevertheless risen again. By the end of August, 12,362 asylum applications were registered, according to the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SEM). The SEM has also corrected the expected asylum numbers from around 16,500 to 19,000 by the end of 2022.
The reasons for the increase are many, but since recently citizens from India, Cuba and Burundi no longer need a visa to travel to Serbia. It is unclear whether Russia, which is friendly with Serbia, is behind the trend as some eastern European countries assume, but the pattern is familiar according to Keller-Sutter. She referred to a wave of migrants through Russian ally Belarus to countries like Poland, in which Russia was suspected of involvement.
“It would therefore be desirable if the visa policies of the Balkan states were harmonized with those from the Schengen area,” the justice minister said. Several EU states are now planning an intervention with the EU Commission, in which Switzerland also wants to participate.
Pro-Palestine uni protests to be debated in Swiss parliament
This content was published on
The Swiss People’s Party says it will launch two postulates calling for clarifications about the recent student protests and occupations.
This content was published on
A 36-year-old man from Ticino lost his life on Saturday in Val Malvaglia, in the north of canton Ticino, during a wingsuit jump from a plane.
Swiss Evangelical Reformed Church numbers dropping in French-speaking Switzerland
This content was published on
As in German-speaking Switzerland, the number of members of the Reformed Church in French-speaking Switzerland is also declining.
Gotthard traffic queue hits 20km during holiday weekend
This content was published on
The traffic jam at the Gotthard north portal reached a length of 20 kilometres on the motorway between canton Nidwalden and canton Uri.
Swiss Interior Minister visits Cannes Film Festival
This content was published on
Swiss Interior Minister left the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday after three days of intensive dialogue, meetings and film screenings.
Swiss theatre director breaks with tradition at Vienna’s Rathausplatz
This content was published on
With the proclamation of the "Free Republic of Vienna", the start of the festival on Friday evening was unusually political.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.