Albania calls for Balkan schengen system

Albania’s Minister of Interior Lulzim Basha declared on Monday that Albania’s Presidency of the Regional Initative for Migration, Asylum and Refugees would be dedicated to creating a Balkan Schengen system, the albanian media reported.

“Our main goal is to produce within a short period an agenda for the installment of the Balkan Schengen, the free movement of the citizens of our countries without borders, tariffs or custom barriers,” said Basha during a workshop on the initiative in Tirana.

The idea of the so-called Balkan Schengen put forward by Basha was backed by the head of the delegation of the European Commission in Tirana, Helmut Lohan.

“In this way the countries in the region can give a vote of confidence to each other the way that the European Commission did,” said Lohan in the workshop. “Backing regional cooperation in the economic and political level is always a priority for the European Union,” he added.