The Balkans: Building Walls against “Transit” Migration

Abstract

The countries of the Balkan Peninsula have long served as important transit states for migrants and refugees seeking passage to other parts of Europe. However, whereas previously many of these countries generally allowed people to transit their territories—Croatia even provided assistance to transiting migrants—their postures changed considerably after countries in Western Europe began closing their borders during the “crisis.” This raised fears that thousands of people would be left stranded in the Balkans, which in turn helped feed widespread anti-immigrant backlash across the region. Many Balkan countries—Bulgaria, Hungary, and Slovenia—erected border fences, which in some countries have been surveiled by violent right-wing paramilitary groups. Croatia and Hungary have misused the “safe country” concept to justify sending people back to Serbia or Bosnia, and violent pushbacks are reportedly common in many areas. Hungary arguably stands out for its harsh response to migration and refugee challenges, which were considerable: between 2013 and 2015, the annual number of apprehensions in the country skyrocketed, from less than 10,000 to nearly half a million. Hungary’s draconian responses to these pressures—including adopting laws punishing unauthorised entry, the construction of border fences, pushbacks using water guns and tear gas, use of “ad hoc” detention facilities where detainees are often malnourished, and extremely divisive xenophobic political campaigns—continue to be widely condemned, both in Europe and internationally. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said that Hungary’s actions were “an entirely unacceptable infringement of the human rights of refugees and migrants.” Many of these “infringements,” however, are writ large across the entire Balkan region, where non-citizens can face a level of violence and hostility that is arguably unique in the European Union (EU). Meanwhile, even as some political figures in the region have been deeply antagonistic to EU policies during the “crisis,” the countries have benefitted from EU financing for their ramped up border control and detention efforts.