In light of the situation and gravity of the south-north corridor used by migrants to enter Greece from Turkey in order to resume their journey up north, I have to say that in 2016 progress has been made in terms of cooperation since there had been no cooperation at all in 2015, stated Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki on Friday.
Speaking at a news conference after a meeting of the foreign ministers of Macedonia, Greece, Bulgaria and Albania in Thessaloniki, Poposki said that communication channels had been established this year with Greece, the countries’ interior ministries had also improved cooperation and diplomatic channels had been set up to share information about these matters.
“It doesn’t mean that everything will be solved automatically, but we need to be careful because activists, NGOs and human traffickers are still able to cooperate across borders much better than the state institutions,” stated Poposki.
Asked whether and to what extent the migration crisis had affected the relations between the four countries and in the region in general, the Macedonian Minister said the crisis affected the relations with Bulgaria and Albania in a different way and degree compared to those with Greece given the fact that tens of thousands of migrants had been stranded on the Greek-Macedonian border.
“Therefore, the comparison cannot be the same. Obviously, it is easy to cooperate with our two neighbors, on whose borders the situation is not the same in terms of migrants attempting to enter Macedonia. Unlike in 2015, this year an improvement has been made in terms of cooperation,” said Poposki.
The FM said the meeting was an ‘appropriate form’ to deal with migration and a ‘good way’ for the four countries to address other issues in the future.
“From the point of view of Macedonia, a clear message should be sent that the Balkan corridor for migrants will not experience the same evolution as in 2015,” Poposki stated adding that the countries were coordinating their efforts.
On the other hand, he added, Greece should not be left alone to deal with tens of thousands of migrants on its territory and more efforts need to be made in view of readmission and relocation.
“It might not be perfect, but the EU plan is the only one we have and we must try to make it work,” stressed the Macedonian Minister.
He urged the four countries to keep on bolstering their ties despite the migrant crisis.
The two-day ministerial meeting between Macedonia, Greece, Bulgaria and Albania devoted to crossborder cooperation in relation to the migrant and refugee crisis was concluded Friday in Thessaloniki. On the sidelines of the meeting, FM Poposki held separate bilateral meetings with his Greek, Bulgarian and Albanian counterparts, Nikos Kotzias, Daniel Mitov and Ditmir Bushati.