Западно-балканска мигрантска рута: утицај кандидатуре за чланство у Европској унији на позиције Србије

Abstract

Предмет рада је утицај миграција из држава западне Азије и северне Африке на Србију, у контексту њене позиције и односа са суседним државама са којима сачињава За- падно-балканску руту, као и са Европском унијом. Циљ рада је сагледавање и анализа утицаја Европске уније на преобликовање поступака и мера спровођених у области управљања миграцијама током трајања мигрантске „кри- зе“. Полазећи од теоријског приступа о различитим меха- низмима ширења утицаја ЕУ на државе кандидате, а на основу квалитативне анализе садржаја, основни налази рада упућују на то да кандидатура Србије за чланство у Унији представља важан подстицај за развој националних политика и пракси према мигрантима. Уводни део про- праћен је теоријским разматрањима о дифузији политика и вредности Европске уније. Следе опис и анализа односа Србије са осталим државама Западно-балканске руте и са Европском унијом.

The paper is focused on migration trends from the MENA region and their impact on Serbia, from the point of view of Serbia’s positions and relations with the neighbouring countries along the Western Balkan route, and also with the European Union. Serbia’s aspirations towards joining the EU have arguably presented the most important impetus for the development of national policies and practices towards migrants during the migration “crisis”. The paper deploys the theoretical framework developed by Tanja A. Börzel and Thomas Risse on mechanisms of diffusion in “usage” by the European Union. The suggested mechanisms of diffusion can be divided in the following way: coercion, manipulation of utility calculations, socialization, persuasion and emulation. The author of the paper scrutinizes each of the mentioned in order to describe and analyze the extent of the transformative power of the European Union regarding Serbia’s policies and practices during the migration “crisis”. The chapter on theoretical background is followed by chapter on relations between Serbia and neighbouring countries (first of all FYROM, Croatia and Hungary). Not all of them are EU member states (FYROM) and not all of them joined the EU long time ago (Hungary and Croatia become EU member states in 2004 and 2013 respectively). Serbia has a shared past with Croatia and FYROM, with the disintegration of the joint country in 1990. Many war “traumas” from the 1990s revived, especially in the second half of 2015 between Croatia and Serbia. Contrary to that, relations between Serbia and two other neighbouring countries during the migration “crisis” were that of rather good neighbours, however not without tensions. In the following chapter, the focus is on the issues of migration management in Serbia, from the point of view of its candidacy and integration into the European Union. Serbia’s road to the EU has been paved by numerous challenges, many of which have been related to migration of its own citizens. One of the most prominent challenges was that regarding the readmission of Serbia’s nationals illegally staying in the EU. However, in the current situation, Serbia was in the EU’s focus due to its position within the Western Balkan route. National policies and practices towards asylum seekers have been in compliance to a large extent with the EU’s requirements, motivated by Serbia’s wish to obtain positive progress reports and to approach to the EU funds. In its view, through the conduct in the migration „crisis“, Serbia has been demonstrating its reliability and responsibility and even more important, its capacities to become a member state of the EU.