(ANSA) - BRUXELLES - In Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia, more measures are necessary to maintain the integrity of the visa-free scheme and to address potential abuses of the EU asylum system. This is the message from the fifth assessment of the EU Commission published today.

"The misuse of the visa-free travel scheme for seeking asylum in the EU must be addressed systematically and through proper allocation of resources" said Dimitris Avramopoulos, Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship. "Our report formulates a set of recommendations to tackle the push and pull factors of irregular migration so I strongly call for the full support and engagement of all participating countries" added the EU Commissioner. The number of asylum applications submitted in the EU and Schengen-associated countries by nationals of the five visa-free Western Balkan countries has been steadily rising, peaking in 2013 at 53,705 applications. Figures for the first nine months of 2014 are 40% higher than for the same period of 2013. The overwhelming majority of applications remained manifestly unfounded and serbian citizens remained the largest group of Western Balkan visa-free asylum-seekers in the EU and Schengen-associated countries (42% in 2013), followed by citizens of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Albania (21% each), citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina (14%) and citizens of Montenegro (2%). Germany remains the largest recipient of Western Balkan visa-free asylum applications, with an increased share of the Western Balkan intake (from 12% in 2009 to 75% in the first nine months of 2014). (ANSA)