South Eastern Europe
 Migration Issues South-Eastern Europe (SEE) is affected by several simultaneous migration trends, such as the return and reintegration of refugees, migration outflows to the EU and an increase in seasonal labour migrants; therefore, the countries of the region face challenges in many migration-related fields. Despite the fact that parts of the region remain unstable, significant efforts have been made to improve the countries’ migration management capacities in order to achieve the long-term goal of EU accession. While visa facilitation and readmission agreements have been concluded in recent years, the European Commission (EC) proposed visa-free travel to the Schengen zone for the citizens of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia starting from 1 January 2010. For the other SEE countries (excluding Croatia which is a candidate state), there is a need to build stronger institutions and a sound technical infrastructure before such a recommendation can be made. The SEE countries are primarily source and transit countries for trafficking in human beings and other forms of irregular migration. A noteworthy regional phenomenon is the large number of SEE labour migrants abroad as their remittances often comprise a large portion of their home country’s gross domestic product. IOM, together with its national and international partners, aims to support the governments in the region in improving their migration management capacity, including border management, and to help combat THB. Improving the welfare of ethnic minorities, helping integrate redundant military personnel, strengthening ties with the SEE diaspora, and promoting orderly migration also remain key priorities. |
Principal IOM Offices
Educational Toolkit
A toolkit teaching young people about migration and asylum in the European Union
