Baroness Helic – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Helic on 2015-11-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the influx of refugees and migrants into the Western Balkans on the security situation in that region, and what discussions they have had with (1) NATO, and (2) the EU, about that issue.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The British Government makes ongoing assessments of the impact of refugees and migrants on the security situation in the Western Balkans. There have been limited discussions in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) on migration as the issue is largely a national and EU competence. NATO can address some of the causes of migration by helping to improve the security and resilience of countries in the region through its partnership frameworks and Defence Capacity Building activity. We have been in regular contact with the EU on addressing all aspects of the crisis. The Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Teresa May), participated in an EU Conference with Western Balkans and other countries in Luxembourg on 8 October, which agreed a comprehensive package of measures for dealing with the challenges of migration through the Eastern Mediterranean route. We consider it important that the actions agreed at this Conference, and other actions agreed between the EU and the Western Balkans – notably the 17-point Plan of 25 October – are implemented as soon as possible.