North Macedonia
  Greece
North Macedonia and its Balkan neighbors (Greece to its south in grey):
  North Macedonia
  Albania
  Bulgaria
  Kosovo
  Serbia

The North Macedonia border barrier is a border barrier built by North Macedonia on its border with Greece. It was constructed as a response to the European migrant crisis. The construction of the barrier began in November 2015, modeled similarly to the Hungarian border barrier.[1]

History

See also: Timeline of the European migrant crisis

On 29 November 2015, the Macedonian army began erecting fences on the Greek border.[2] A Moroccan man was injured in an accident that led to clashes between police and migrants that injured 18.[3] In the early stage of the construction of the barrier, Macedonian police were attacked by the migrants, according to The Guardian.[4] In February, Macedonian soldiers began erecting a second fence meters away from the previous one.[5]

After Austria started to limit asylum applications on its territory in February,[6] Slovenia, Serbia, and other Balkan states imposed restrictions on migrant entries.[7] As a result, Macedonia restricted migrant entries to its territory, which stranded thousands of migrants in Greece, especially near Idomeni border crossing.[7] On 29 February 2016, a group of hundreds of migrants attacked riot police with stones and attempted to break the border barrier using a battering ram made from vandalized street signs and a lamp post.[8][9]

The European Union gave political and financial support for the fences. It was commented that it must be extraordinary that the European Union pays a third country to protect itself from a member country.

Idomeni migrant camp

In January 2016, Austria limited the number of immigrants that were allowed to be in the country at the same time.[10] In February 2016, Austrian interior minister Mickl-Leitner announced a cap on the number of transiting migrants per day.[11] Subsequently, Slovenia barred migrants from transiting through its territory and Macedonia announced the closure of its Greek border to migrants.[12] Albania deployed extra police to guard its borders and received assistance from Italy in form of "men and equipment" on both land and sea.[13] In March, Macedonia announced a plan to extend its 30 kilometres (19 miles) barrier to 320 kilometres (200 miles).[citation needed]

In May 2016, Reuters reported that more than 10,000 migrants were settled on the border in what has become Europe's largest refugee camp with mosques, schools, and businesses.[14]

See also

References

  1. ^ Hall, John (10 January 2016). "European refugee crisis: Macedonia builds 10ft-high razor-topped fence along Greek border". International Business Times.
  2. ^ "Stranded migrants battle police on Greece-Macedonia border". BBC News. 28 November 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  3. ^ "Migrants clash with Macedonian police on Greek border". AP News. 28 November 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  4. ^ Migrants attack Macedonian police as construction of Greek border fence begins. theguardian.com. 29 November 2015.
  5. ^ Euronews (7 February 2016). "More problems at FYROM-Greek border slows refugees' journey north". Archived from the original on 13 February 2016. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
  6. ^ Migrant crisis: Austria asylum cap begins despite EU anger. BBC News. 19 February 2016
  7. ^ a b "Migrant crisis: Macedonia border closure strands thousands in Greece". BBC News. 22 February 2016.
  8. ^ Holehouse, Matthew (29 February 2016). "Migrant crowd uses battering ram to break open Macedonia fences". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 29 February 2016.
  9. ^ "Migrants use 'battering ram' on Greece-Macedonia border fence". BBC. 29 February 2016.
  10. ^ "Refugee Crisis: Austria Limits Asylum to 1.5 Percent of Population". NBC News. 20 January 2016.
  11. ^ "Austria dismisses criticism of its plan to limit daily refugee numbers". The Guardian. 18 February 2016.
  12. ^ "Migrant crisis: Macedonia shuts Balkans route". BBC News. 9 March 2016.
  13. ^ "Refugees may start to cross over Albania". The Economist. 8 March 2016.
  14. ^ Papadimas, Lefteris (11 May 2016). "Tired of waiting, Greece's migrants turn to business to survive". Reuters.

External links

2015 European migrant crisis
Categories