Vujinovic: The Western Balkans faces illegal migration and organized crime

Security studies researcher Nikola Vujinovic stated that the Western Balkans region is facing real security challenges: illegal migration and organized crime. However, he noted that certain political elites, in an effort to downplay these issues, highlight the problem of "malignant Russian influence" in the region instead.

Vujinovic says that the Western Balkans is currently facing three security challenges, two of which are real, and one fabricated.

"The two real challenges are illegal migration and organized crime. In every country in the region, these are two problems with varying levels of intensity, but they dominate the political and security agendas," Vujinovic told Kosovo Online.

He identified the “threat of malignant Russian influence” in the Balkans as a fabricated security issue.

"In order to justify the two real problems to the political elites, whether in North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, or Montenegro, a supposed malignant Russian influence is being fabricated. We can see that in Bosnia and Herzegovina, migration issues are becoming increasingly critical, especially after the United Kingdom decided to send some migrants there. Even Kosovo is now one of the destinations for these migrants," Vujinovic said.

He explained that the arrival of migrants is particularly questionable when it comes to Kosovo.

"This is a highly problematic security area," Vujinovic emphasized.