Skopje, 3 November 2022 (MIA) - Interior Minister Oliver Spasovski, who is attending the EU-Western Balkans Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial Forum on Thursday in Tirana, addressed the second session on strengthening migration, asylum and border management. Participants of the forum, in addition to the assessment of the situation along the Western Balkans migration route, also discussed the need for rapid harmonization of the visa policy, efforts to strengthen the capacity for border management, improvement of reception conditions for asylum seekers and strengthening the asylum systems as well as opportunities to improve cooperation in the fight against migrant smuggling and human trafficking and increase the return/readmission of irregular migrants to countries of origin, Interior Ministry said in a press release. At the session, EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, expressed satisfaction with the recently signed Agreement between the Republic of North Macedonia and the European Union for operational activities carried out by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency in the Republic of North Macedonia. The Minister of Interior of the Czech Republic, Vit Rakušan, praised Minister Spasovski regarding the efficiency with which the Republic of North Macedonia completed the negotiation of the agreement with Frontex and finalized the process of signing. Referring to the significance of the agreement with FRONTEX, signed between the Republic of North Macedonia and the European Union, Spasovski also presented the situation with migration in the region. “During 2022, illegal migration is a current threat that countries in the region and beyond are dealing with. As in the previous years, Turkey and Greece are countries in whose territories a large number of migrants are stationed. Analytical findings show that migration pressure in the Western Balkans region during 2022 has increased, especially on the northern borders of the region with Serbia and Austria. 22,806 migrants were prevented from illegally crossing the borders of the Republic of North Macedonia, or nearly five thousand more attempts compared to the same period last year,” Spasovski said. According to Minister Spasovski, the activities that have been undertaken to prevent criminal activities related to the smuggling of migrants have resulted in discovering 89 cases of smuggling of 1,328 migrants. In doing so, he emphasized that one of the main prerequisites for efficient border management and migrations is efficient international cooperation, for which the Republic of North Macedonia represents the most adequate example in the region with the joint international operation on the southern border with the help of IOM, which from 2016 is also supported by the European Commission. Among the main priorities, according to Spasovski, is deepening international cooperation with the countries of the region, with the countries of transit and origin, with EU and UN agencies, as well as relevant international organizations, and the Ministry of the Interior actively participates in numerous international and regional platforms. initiatives and processes. “The key to success is good cooperation, regular communication, coordination and exchange of experiences with other colleagues from the Western Balkan countries and relevant EU partners in the field of return and readmission. To this end, our plan is to initiate readmission agreements with other countries of origin in Asia and Africa in the coming period, but also to reaffirm the existing initiatives for concluding agreements. Cooperation with our partners the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) as well as other partner organizations will continue,” Spasovski noted. The Minister of the Interior of the Czech Republic, representing the Presidency of the Council of the EU, together with the European Commission, represented by the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, met Thursday in Tirana with their counterparts from the Western Balkans on the first day of the annual EU-Western Balkans Ministerial Forum on Justice and Home Affairs. The meeting was also attended by representatives of the incoming Swedish and Spanish presidencies of the Council of the EU.