PRISTINA, Kosovo
Belgium will not grant asylum to Kosovo nationals, the country's Asylum and Immigration Secretary Theo Francken has declared during a formal visit to Kosovo.
Francken's statement came on Tuesday after he held talks in Kosovo's capital of Pristina met with Kosovo's Minister of Internal Affairs Skender Hyseni.
He said at a joint press conference: "There are many people from Kosovo, Albania and other Balkan countries to which we are not granting asylum. They are not genuine refugees."
"Belgium is a friend nation to Kosovo, but the asylum seekers who have come to our country lately are not genuine refugees and, because of this, Belgium will not grant them asylum."
Hyseni said that he had "asked the Belgian delegation to speed up the processing of asylum applications for the citizens of Kosovo, in order to allow all citizens of Kosovo who will be refused to come back as soon as possible".
Job creation effort
It is estimated that more than 50,000 Kosovars have moved to EU countries in the last three months.
In a bid to stop illegal migration, Kosovo's parliament ratified a resolution on Feb. 5, calling on the government to make more effort to create new jobs, allocate funds to prevent illegal migration and provide customs concessions, among other measures.
Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, and has since been recognized by 108 states, including the U.S., Germany, U.K., France and Turkey.
Serbia, together with China and Russia, are among the countries which do not recognize its independence.
