The North Macedonia border barrier is a
border barrier
A border barrier, border fence or border wall is a separation barrier that runs along or near an international border. Such barriers are typically constructed for border control purposes such as curbing illegal immigration, human trafficking, a ...
built by
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...
on its border with
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
. It was constructed as a response to the
European migrant crisis
The 2015 European migrant crisis was a period of significantly increased movement of refugees and Human migration, migrants into Europe, mostly from the Middle East. An estimated 1.3 million people came to the continent to request Right of asyl ...
. The construction of the barrier began in November 2015, modeled similarly to the
Hungarian border barrier.
History
On 29 November 2015, the Macedonian army began erecting fences on the Greek border.
A Moroccan man was injured in an accident that led to clashes between police and migrants that injured 18.
In the early stage of the construction of the barrier, Macedonian police were attacked by the migrants, according to ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
''. In February, Macedonian soldiers began erecting a second fence meters away from the previous one.
After Austria started to limit asylum applications on its territory in February,
Slovenia
Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
,
Serbia
, image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg
, national_motto =
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg
, national_anthem = ()
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, map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
, and other
Balkan
The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...
states imposed restrictions on migrant entries.
As a result, Macedonia restricted migrant entries to its territory, which stranded thousands of migrants in Greece, especially near
Idomeni border crossing.
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
A battering ram is a siege engine that originated in ancient times and was designed to break open the masonry walls of fortifications or splinter their wooden gates. In its simplest form, a battering ram is just a large, heavy log carried ...
made from vandalized street signs and a lamp post.
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. In February 2016, Austrian interior minister Mickl-Leitner announced a cap on the number of transiting migrants per day. Subsequently, Slovenia barred migrants from transiting through its territory and Macedonia announced the closure of its Greek border to migrants.
Albania
Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...
deployed extra police to guard its borders and received assistance from
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
in form of "men and equipment" on both land and sea. In March, Macedonia announced a plan to extend its barrier to .
In May 2016, ''
Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency ...
'' 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.
See also
*
Austrian border barrier
Austrian border barriers are border barriers and migration management facilities constructed by Austria between November 2015 and January 2016 on its Austria-Slovenia border, border with Slovenia and in 2016 on its border with Italy, as a response ...
*
Bulgarian border barrier
*
Greek border barrier
*
Hungarian border barrier
*
Norway–Russia border barrier
*
Slovene border barrier
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Greece–North Macedonia relations
*
Accession of North Macedonia to the European Union
The accession of North Macedonia to the European Union has been on the current agenda for future enlargement of the EU since 2005, when it became an official candidate for accession. The then Republic of Macedonia submitted its membership appl ...
References
External links
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{{European migrant crisis
Border barriers constructed during the European migrant crisis
2015 in the Republic of Macedonia
Greece–North Macedonia border