We need excellent cooperation to get best possible grip on migration, Klarenbeek tells MIA
Skopje, 19 November 2022 (MIA) - The full deployment of Frontex in North Macedonia will first of all help to guard the borders in best possible way, but would also increase transfer of knowledge, capacities, etc, between North Macedonia and other European countries, Dutch Special Envoy for Migration, Ambassador Joost Klarenbeek, said in an interview with MIA.
Klarenbeek, who visited North Macedonia for a two-day Ministerial Conference on Sustainable Migration Governance in the Western Balkans, organized by the Ministry of Interior and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Office, believes that no country can deal with the influx of illegal migrants alone, but it requires mutual cooperation.
Ambassador Klarenbeek is the Netherlands Special Envoy for Migration since 2019. As ambassador-at-large, Klarenbeek works with governments, international organizations and civil society to create partnerships with countries of origin and transit, and help find solutions to the challenges of irregular migration.
Read Ambassador Klarenbeek's interview with MIA in full below:
Mr. Ambassador, thank you for accepting this interview with MIA.
You are in Skopje for a ministerial conference on sustainable migration governance in Western Balkans. What is the purpose of this conference and what was your message to the participants??
The Skopje conference is on sustainable migration governance and I am participating in it because the countries in the region and the countries of the EU and also other countries have to work much closer together in order to get good grip on an irregular migration.
We see numbers going up and we need all countries in the region to take full responsibility, we need much more regional cooperation and we need much more pulling of knowledge and capacity of countries in the region but also countries of the EU. And I am here today to help to share our perspective and see how we can help.
In recent months, the police in North Macedonia and in the neighbouring countries have been frequently detaining groups of migrants. Is the so-called “Balkan Route”, which was very active during the war in Syria, when almost 900,000 migrants passed through the region, reactivating again?
I believe so. Irregular migration is increasing again through different routes, but certainly also Balkan route is definitely going up. If we look up data from Frontex the number of arrivals seems to have more than doubled in comparison to last year and in many ways, we are close now to 2015-2016 levels. So, this conference is coming at the right time.
Unlike in period 2015-2016, when most of the migrants came from Syria, they have primarily arrived from Afghanistan in recent months. Could we expect an increasing wave of refugees from Afghanistan in the coming period, considering the Taliban regime in power?
If I look at the numbers, you still see there is still mixed flow. There are a lot Syrians, but also Afghans, Pakistanis, Indians, Bangladeshis a lot of everything really.
Yes, Afghans are part of this group, but they are not dominant and we do not expect them to be dominant anytime soon. But we better be expected for everything and this is why we need excellent cooperation to make sure we work upstream that we work together and we work downstream to make sure we get the best possible grip on migration.
An interesting fact is that the largest number of migrants enter North Macedonia from EU territory, primarily from Greece. How do you comment on this?
That’s geography and that is why cooperation is important. Cooperation in the region. Whether you are in the EU or not, you need to cooperate closely with your neighbours. Also, between North Macedonia and Greece police cooperation has really increased after 2018 agreement. Lot has to be done and think that’s true for pretty much every country in the region but it only underscores the importance of doing this together. No country can do this alone.
FRONTEX forces are deployed on our southern border, with North Macedonia and the EU signing the FRONTEX agreement last month. What is your opinion about the results of the FRONTEX mission in the country?
First of all the signature of Frontex agreement was a great defend and I want to congratulate you for it. The full deployment of Frontex in North Macedonia will first of all help to guard the borders in best possible way, but would also increase transfer of knowledge, capacities, etc, between North Macedonia and other European countries.
Besides the "Balkan route", an increasing number of migrants was recorded on other routes, such as the "Western Mediterranean", "Central Mediterranean" etc in the course of last year and following the Covid pandemic. What is the reason for this?
Exactly, part of that is a bit of a catch up after pandemic which basically frozen international mobility in many ways for almost two years. There is also more irregular migration going on worldwide through all the routes.
If you look at the causes of irregular migration there are many, there is war, prosecution, climate change, socially economic perspectives, usually it is a combination of all these factors that make people want to move. I constantly the pattern of shifting some routes become bigger, if you manage to get control people start shifting another direction and that’s why we really need to cooperate internationally to make sure that we keep up with every changing movements.
There has been an increased influx of migrants and refugees at EU's eastern borders this year, as a result of Russian aggression in Ukraine. What is the current number of Ukrainian refugees in the EU?
I do not have the exact number, because they are coming in and coming out but I think it is well over 6 million in European Union. In Netherlands we have well over 80,000 Ukrainian refugees registered at this moment. But their number will be bigger because people are staying with families and in more informal settings, so it is a big group.
Strictly speaking in Netherlands, they are not asylum seekers, for them we have special arrangement, but of course they are also using capacity that for all have been available for all refugees. So, they are definitely part of the burden that we are dealing with, but we are happy to do this, to help our Ukrainian friends in these hard times.
We have also had cases of people fleeing Russia to avoid mobilization in the Russian army. What is their status in the EU?
I can give you a formal answer. Every person has the right in the Netherlands and throughout the EU to request access to an asylum procedure, to request asylum. This is not mean that you have the right to asylum. This will be determined by the migration services, the Ministry and eventually by the courts.
Sashko Panajotov
Video: Aslan Vishko
Photo: Darko Popov
