EASO in the Western Balkans: Needs assessment missions to Montenegro and Kosovo*
Encouraged by EASO’s successful and gradually expanding cooperation in the Western Balkans region, both Montenegro and Kosovo* have on several occasions expressed interest in establishing tailored and advanced form of cooperation with EASO.
The call to develop dedicated Roadmaps for cooperation between EASO and the two countries was also supported by the respective EU services and reinforced with EU funding (IPA II) through the regional support to protection-sensitive migration management systems project.
In order to have a detailed understanding of the needs and challenges in the two Western Balkan administrations, EASO has mobilised both internal and EU Member State expertise from Croatia and Greece in the needs assessment phase.
In a meeting with the Head of the Directorate for Asylum of Montenegro, Marija Raickovic welcomed EASO’s continuous support to Montenegro and the deepening of the cooperation via the development of a Roadmap. Meetings also took place with other competent authorities (Directorates for Asylum and Reception, Border Police), the EU Delegation to Montenegro and the EU Office in Kosovo* as well as relevant international organisations such as UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) and IOM (International Organisation for Migration). The finalisations and endorsements of the respective Roadmaps for cooperation are expected by the end of 2021.
In Montenegro, EASO and the EU experts were given the opportunity to witness the entire asylum application procedure, from registration at the border with Albania, (via the dedicated reception centres of Bozaj and Spuz) to the lodging of applications and examination procedures with the Directorate for Asylum. Vanja Rasovic, a social worker from the Spuz Reception centre in Montenegro, was one of many qualified and motivated first-line officers that EASO representatives spoke to and she commented that:
as a social worker, my everyday work in the Reception centre Spuz is both challenging and rewarding. Despite the occasional challenges, the positive situations prevail and I am often witnessing situations that I will remember forever. I am particularly happy about the case of an Iranian asylum seeker that we welcomed last year in a worrying psychological state and who has now managed not only to overcome his problems but has also become a valuable asset of the centre as he is now helping us as interpreter for Farsi.
In Kosovo* EASO representatives noted the overall good asylum legal framework and hand in hand collaboration between asylum authorities and NGO partners, in charge of providing legal aid from the start of the asylum procedure and supporting initial vulnerability assessment and identification of psycho-social support needs of applicants for international protection.
Background
In the context of the (post) 2015 migration situation, the asylum systems in the Western Balkans evolved rapidly and under significant pressure. Support from EU agencies and international partners was made available, including by providing expert support to the strengthening of strategic and legislative frameworks, building (additional) reception capacities and providing training and other forms of capacity development support. As a result, the Western Balkans partners have progressively aligned their legislative framework with the CEAS (Common European Asylum System) and taken important steps to regulate asylum practices and strengthen their reception capacities.
*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.