Balkan Route. More and more attempts to cross the border
Although in the first seven days of this year Hungarian services detected and prevented only one illegal border crossing, almost 250 such cases were recorded last week. Last weekend alone, Hungarian police took action against 72 people attempting to cross the country’s border. In addition, 9 people who were already on Hungarian territory were detained. A total of 141 people were detained, the highest number since the beginning of this year.
According to the Migration Research Institute, last year’s drastic reduction in the number of border violations was due to the fact that from October 2023, border protection was provided not only by Hungarian services, but also by Serbian ones, which were largely involved in limiting illegal immigration. migration. At the end of October last year, the Serbian police and gendarmerie carried out coordinated actions during which accommodation facilities used by migrants were liquidated.
Serbian officers left the border area
As Hungarian analysts remind us, the change in the management of the migration situation in Serbia was mainly caused by the European Union and the specific demands of some of its member states. The community has demanded that Serbia, which is seeking to join the EU, take measures to limit illegal migration. Thanks to Belgrade’s efforts, attempts to illegally cross the Serbian-Hungarian border have almost completely ceased in recent months.
However, a few weeks ago, Serbian officials left the border area and since then Hungarians have been watching the return of migrants to the so-called Balkan Route. Experts from the Migration Research Institute are convinced that the so-called Balkan route continues to play a significant role in migration processes to the European Union. This is evidenced, among other things, by the fact that instead of Hungary, migrants go to the EU via Bosnia and Herzegovina, and then to Croatia and Slovenia, from where they continue their journey to Italy or Austria. At the same time, analysts warn that the Serbia-Hungarian border may once again become the focus of attention of smugglers organising the transfer of illegal immigrants.
