Austrian restrictions trigger domino effect across Balkan refugee route

“Afghan asylum seekers seeking to travel through the Balkans to northern Europe were barred from entering Macedonia yesterday (21 February), after Austria introduced a similar restriction, creating a domino effect along the so-called Balkan migrant route. “We were warned this morning that Macedonian authorities would no longer let Afghans pass,” a Greek police official told AFP, adding that Macedonia justified its move by claiming that Serbia had made a similar decision. The development came after Austria on Friday (19 February) introduced a daily limit on refugees entering and registering in the country, triggering EU fears of a domino effect along the so-called Balkan ‘migrant’ route.” See the article: Austrian restrictions trigger domino effect across Balkan refugee route (EurActiv, link) See: Report from ECRE: Over 200 refugees, including SIA, rejected on the Slovenian border (ECRE, link): “In the early hours of Wednesday 17 February, 217 asylum seekers were returned from Slovenia, through Croatia and finally to Serbia. The group, as stated by UNHCR Serbia, includes a significant number of refugees from Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria (SIA), were rejected on the Slovenian border after “failing” the nationality test.” And: Austria plans Western Balkan meeting on migrant caps (EUobserver, link): “Austria is asking Western Balkan nations and Bulgaria to meet to discuss the migrant crisis, ahead of a gathering of EU interior ministers in Brussels.” There are already agreements between the EU and Western Balkans countries on a common approach to the refugee crisis. The most recent update on implementing the agreements was issued by the European Commission on 10 February. See: Follow up to Western Balkans Leaders’ Meeting – State of Play report (pdf) And see: Refugee crisis: latest news from across Europe (22.2.16)