- Title: FILE-KOSOVO-MIGRANTS: Thousands of Kosovo migrants cross into Hungary from Serbia
- Date: 13th February 2015
- Summary: PRISTINA, KOSOVO (FEBRUARY 2, 2015) (REUTERS) PRISTINA BUS STATION WITH PEOPLE WAITING TO GET ON BUS TO BELGRADE PEOPLE TRYING TO GET ON BUS LITTLE GIRL QUEUING VARIOUS OF PEOPLE TRYING TO GET ON BUS BUS DESTINATION BOARD SHOWING KOSOVO TOWNS AND FINAL DESTINATION BELGRADE MAN SHOUTING WOMAN CRYING PEOPLE ON BUS BOY HOLDING HANDS AGAINST BUS WINDOW ASOTTHALOM, HUNGARY (FEB
- Embargoed: 28th February 2015 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Serbia
- Country: Serbia
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA6QVCC08QCJDZLJHX4RJBZN7BR
- Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE UPDATED DATES IN SHOTS 11-24 TO FEBRUARY, NOT JANUARY
Almost four thousand Kosovo residents sought asylum in European Union-member Hungary last month alone, compared to some six thousand in the whole of 2013, Kosovo's Interior Minister said, confirming a dramatic rise in the number trying to escape poverty in their Balkan homeland.
The January figure follows a more than threefold increase from 2013 in 2014 in the number of Kosovars caught illegally crossing the border from Serbia into Hungary and who then immediately submit asylum requests.
The spike has coincided with an EU-brokered relaxation of rules in Serbia, which now accepts identification papers issued by Kosovo, a former Serbian republic that declared independence in 2008 but is not recognised as sovereign by Serbia.
Officials say the exodus is fuelled by widespread poverty and unemployment, and a desire to join the large Kosovo Albanian diaspora in Western Europe.
Though it is impossible to verify the purpose of each traveller, Reuters reporters witnessed crowds of people boarding ten nightly busses from the Kosovo capital Pristina to Serbia's Belgrade, more than halfway to Hungary.
The rise in the number of Kosovars seeking asylum in the EU mirrors that of migrants from further afield, many of them Syrians, traversing the Balkans in the hope of reaching the EU's borderless Schengen zone.
Unlike Syrians or Afghans, for example, who may take months to run the gauntlet of borders and police through numerous countries, Kosovars can enter Serbia without a passport and are then just one border away from the EU.
Interior Minister Skender Hyseni has cited a thaw in relations between Serbia and Kosovo, brokered by the EU, under which Kosovars since 2012 can enter Serbia with Kosovo-issued ID papers. But he declined to speculate what might be driving so many more people to leave.
While Kosovo's economy is growing a healthy rate, much of that is driven by cash sent home by Kosovars working abroad, including some 700-800,000 in Switzerland and Germany.
The economy is not big enough to absorb the thousands of jobseekers entering the workforce every year in what is Europe's youngest society. One third of the workforce is unemployed.
In Pristina, authorities say more than 800 pupils had left school in the past three months, with teachers blaming immigration.
Whole families crossed icy water in a stream on the border, carrying babies and their belongings.
Hundreds of illegal immigrants from Kosovo are stopped by Hungarian and Serbian border police attempting to enter the EU through Hungary.
Most migrants hope to find work in the grey economy in wealthy Western Europe, hooking up with relatives and friends until they can ultimately legalise their stay.
Hungary's immigration agency said 40-50 per cent of asylum applicants would normally leave the country within 24 hours and a further 30-40 per cent within 3-10 days.
Kosovo declared independence in 2008 and is recognised by more than 100 countries.
But Serbia's refusal - backed by U.N. veto-holder Russia - to do so has impeded Kosovo's international integration and therefore its economic development. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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