MACEDONIA'S NEW VISA REGULATIONS MEET EU

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SKOPJE 000022

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/SCE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM SMIG KCRM AL MK GR
SUBJECT: MACEDONIA'S NEW VISA REGULATIONS MEET EU
STANDARDS, STRENGTHEN ANTI-TIP EFFORTS

REF: TIRANA 27

SUMMARY


1. (SBU) Macedonia's new Law on Foreigners has caused a stir
domestically and in Albania by requiring visas for Albanian
travelers to Macedonia to be issued at the Macedonian Embassy
in Tirana rather than at border crossings (reftel). In fact,
the new law is fully compliant with EU acquis and will
strengthen anti-TIP efforts. The government has decided to
delay implementation for Albanian travelers, pending upcoming
high-level bilateral talks with Tirana on the matter.
Although government handling of advance public relations
preparations for implementing the new law was sloppy,
Macedonia should not be faulted for taking action to
strengthen border controls and support ongoing visa
facilitation talks between Brussels and Skopje. End summary.

IMPACT ON ALBANIA -- NO VISAS ISSUED AT BORDER CROSSINGS


2. (SBU) Macedonia's new Law on Foreigners entered into force
on January 1, unleashing howls of protest from ethnic
Albanians in Macedonia, and public and private irritation in
Albania (reftel),over provisions eliminating the issuance of
visas at Macedonia's border crossings. Under the new
procedures, visas to enter Macedonia must be issued at
Macedonian Embassies or other consular facilities. In this
case, the new procedures will apply to Albanian citizens, who
need visas to enter Macedonia, but not to citizens of other
bordering countries -- Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia -- whose
citizens do not require visas to enter (although they must
enter with valid travel documents).

GOM TRYING TO EASE THE IMPACT ON ALBANIAN TRAVELERS


3. (SBU) According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the
government has approved an interim waiting period for full
implementation of the new requirement for Albanian travelers.
The head of the ethnic Albanian DPA party, a junior
governing coalition partner, told us January 10 that he had
won the approval of Prime Minister Gruevski to delay
implementation in order to minimize the practical impact of
the law on both sides. The DPA chief admitted that the
government had failed to do adequate advance public relations
work to soften the impact of the new law, which had been on
the books for several months. According to the GOM
spokesman, PM Gruevski will discuss the matter with his
Albanian counterpart during their upcoming meeting in Tirana
"in the first quarter of 2008."

IMPACT ON GREEK TRAVELERS -- NO MORE PASSPORT WAIVER


4. (U) Under the new law, foreigners entering Macedonia may
do so if they possess a valid travel document and a valid
visa, if required. That provision effectively supersedes the
government decision reached last year to allow Greek citizens
to enter Macedonia only with an id card, rather than a
passport, which Skopje viewed as a goodwill gesture toward
Athens. According to local press accounts, the mayors of
Macedonian border cities already have complained that the new
regulation has caused a drop in the number of Greek weekend
visitors. Greek citizens now will be required to enter
Macedonia with a passport, although visas are not required.

IN LINE WITH EU REGULATIONS AND COUNTER-TIP GOALS


5. (U) EU contacts in Skopje confirm that the Law on
Foreigners was prompted by EU requirements. The EU's 2007
progress report on Macedonia specifically called for the GOM
to take "necessary measures...to avoid issuing visas at the
border." According to the EUSR office here, implementation of
the new law is essential to progress on current visa
facilitation talks between Brussels and Skopje.


6. (U) In addition to tightening border security measures by
eliminating the issuance of visas at border crossing points,
the Law on Foreigners also contains articles that will
strengthen anti-trafficking in persons (TIP) efforts here.
Article 81 allows persons suspected of being TIP victims to
be issued visas to remain in Macedonia for up to two months
while they decide whether to testify against suspected
traffickers. The two-month period can be extended in the
case of a possible victim who is also a minor. Article 82
allows for possible victims to be granted a six-month
temporary residence permit if they have agreed to testify

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against traffickers.

COMMENT


7. (SBU) The government certainly could have done a better
internal coordination and external public relations job to
explain how the new law's provisions would affect Albanian
and Greek travelers. However, in our assessment the passage
and implementation of this law will have positive effects in
meeting EU requirements, and on strengthening the country's
anti-TIP efforts.
MILOVANOVIC