Serbia Ends Visa-Free Regimes With Guinea-Bissau, India In Line With EU Policy - Serbian President Alexandar Vucic

Serbia, in accordance with the requirements of EU visa policy, has canceled visa-free travel regulations for citizens of two more countries, namely Guinea-Bissau and India, Serbian President Alexandar Vucic said on Thursday.

BELGRADE (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th December, 2022) Serbia, in accordance with the requirements of EU visa policy, has canceled visa-free travel regulations for citizens of two more countries, namely Guinea-Bissau and India, Serbian President Alexandar Vucic said on Thursday.

Belgrade terminated visa-free regime with Tunisia and Burundi starting November 20.

"As for cancellation of visa-free regime with certain countries where a large part of migrants come from, now we have done it with four countries - Tunisia, Burundi, Guinea-Bissau and India - in accordance with what the EU demands of us," Vucic told reporters.

The president added that Serbia, together with Hungary and Austria, had begun and would continue to strengthen its borders with North Macedonia, since the flow of illegal migrants from its territory has quadrupled in 2022.

In mid-November, Vucic, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban held the second trilateral meeting in Belgrade since October on illegal migration flows and energy. After the leaders signed a memorandum of understanding and cooperation, Vucic said that the number of illegal migrants in 2022 had increased by 191% compared to the previous year. He noted that there was a growing influx of migrants from Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as thousands of people arriving from Russia and Ukraine, which created an additional burden on the country.