Police on Balkans migrant route draft upgrading ID measures for refugees

Police officials from four countries on the Balkans migration route agreed to step up measures for identification of refugees passing along the route on their way to Western Europe, as they met in Slovenia on Friday.

The police forces from Greece, Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia are mulling introducing a single document for refugees for their travels across Europe, which is the top agenda of their meeting at Brdo pri Kranju, Slovenia, according to Slovenian media reports.

Representatives from the four police forces agreed that measures were needed to upgrade the implementation of border rules, the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) reported.

Moreover, they expressed interest in working more closely on providing for an effective mechanism for distinguishing refugees entitled to international protection from economic migrants, the STA report said.

Slovenia will raise the possibility for such an identity document at EU level and seek cooperation from the European Agency for External Borders, Frontex, a statement from the Slovenian police said.

Another topic of discussion was measures for reuniting families who get separated on their journey. The police forces agreed to set up contact points for separated family members to help the Red Cross, which is currently leading efforts to reunite family members.

Police on the Balkans route have registered an increased interest among refugees for returning home or to another country through which they have passed.

To respond to this, police officials from the four countries called on the International Organisation for Migrations (IOM) to prepare a regional approach for supporting voluntary returns, the statement said.

Slovenian Police Commissioner Marjan Fank is expected to present the details of Friday's debate to his Croatian counterpart, who was absent at the meeting despite being invited, the STA reported by the statement. Endit