VZCZCXRO2484
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHSQ #0022/01 0151415
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 151415Z JAN 08
FM AMEMBASSY SKOPJE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6887
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE 0151
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUESEN/SKOPJE BETA
RUEHSQ/USDAO SKOPJE MK
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SKOPJE 000022 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/SCE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM SMIG KCRM AL MK GR
SUBJECT: MACEDONIA'S NEW VISA REGULATIONS MEET EU 
STANDARDS, STRENGTHEN ANTI-TIP EFFORTS 
 
REF: TIRANA 27 
 
SUMMARY 
 
¶1. (SBU) Macedonia's new Law on Foreigners has caused a stir 
domestically and in Albania by requiring visas for Albanian 
travelers to Macedonia to be issued at the Macedonian Embassy 
in Tirana rather than at border crossings (reftel).  In fact, 
the new law is fully compliant with EU acquis and will 
strengthen anti-TIP efforts.  The government has decided to 
delay implementation for Albanian travelers, pending upcoming 
high-level bilateral talks with Tirana on the matter. 
Although government handling of advance public relations 
preparations for implementing the new law was sloppy, 
Macedonia should not be faulted for taking action to 
strengthen border controls and support ongoing visa 
facilitation talks between Brussels and Skopje. End summary. 
 
IMPACT ON ALBANIA -- NO VISAS ISSUED AT BORDER CROSSINGS 
 
¶2. (SBU) Macedonia's new Law on Foreigners entered into force 
on January 1, unleashing howls of protest from ethnic 
Albanians in Macedonia, and public and private irritation in 
Albania (reftel), over provisions eliminating the issuance of 
visas at Macedonia's border crossings.  Under the new 
procedures, visas to enter Macedonia must be issued at 
Macedonian Embassies or other consular facilities.  In this 
case, the new procedures will apply to Albanian citizens, who 
need visas to enter Macedonia, but not to citizens of other 
bordering countries -- Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia -- whose 
citizens do not require visas to enter (although they must 
enter with valid travel documents). 
 
GOM TRYING TO EASE THE IMPACT ON ALBANIAN TRAVELERS 
 
¶3. (SBU) According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the 
government has approved an interim waiting period for full 
implementation of the new requirement for Albanian travelers. 
 The head of the ethnic Albanian DPA party, a junior 
governing coalition partner, told us January 10 that he had 
won the approval of Prime Minister Gruevski to delay 
implementation in order to minimize the practical impact of 
the law on both sides.  The DPA chief admitted that the 
government had failed to do adequate advance public relations 
work to soften the impact of the new law, which had been on 
the books for several months.  According to the GOM 
spokesman, PM Gruevski will discuss the matter with his 
Albanian counterpart during their upcoming meeting in Tirana 
"in the first quarter of 2008." 
 
IMPACT ON GREEK TRAVELERS -- NO MORE PASSPORT WAIVER 
 
¶4. (U) Under the new law, foreigners entering Macedonia may 
do so if they possess a valid travel document and a valid 
visa, if required.  That provision effectively supersedes the 
government decision reached last year to allow Greek citizens 
to enter Macedonia only with an id card, rather than a 
passport, which Skopje viewed as a goodwill gesture toward 
Athens.  According to local press accounts, the mayors of 
Macedonian border cities already have complained that the new 
regulation has caused a drop in the number of Greek weekend 
visitors.  Greek citizens now will be required to enter 
Macedonia with a passport, although visas are not required. 
 
IN LINE WITH EU REGULATIONS AND COUNTER-TIP GOALS 
 
¶5. (U) EU contacts in Skopje confirm that the Law on 
Foreigners was prompted by EU requirements.  The EU's 2007 
progress report on Macedonia specifically called for the GOM 
to take "necessary measures...to avoid issuing visas at the 
border." According to the EUSR office here, implementation of 
the new law is essential to progress on current visa 
facilitation talks between Brussels and Skopje. 
 
¶6. (U) In addition to tightening border security measures by 
eliminating the issuance of visas at border crossing points, 
the Law on Foreigners also contains articles that will 
strengthen anti-trafficking in persons (TIP) efforts here. 
Article 81 allows persons suspected of being TIP victims to 
be issued visas to remain in Macedonia for up to two months 
while they decide whether to testify against suspected 
traffickers.  The two-month period can be extended in the 
case of a possible victim who is also a minor.  Article 82 
allows for possible victims to be granted a six-month 
temporary residence permit if they have agreed to testify 
 
SKOPJE 00000022  002 OF 002 
 
 
against traffickers. 
 
COMMENT 
 
¶7. (SBU) The government certainly could have done a better 
internal coordination and external public relations job to 
explain how the new law's provisions would affect Albanian 
and Greek travelers.  However, in our assessment the passage 
and implementation of this law will have positive effects in 
meeting EU requirements, and on strengthening the country's 
anti-TIP efforts. 
MILOVANOVIC