The hits keep coming against Macedonia’s badly delayed EU integration process. After the announcement from Reuters yesterday that the EU member states could not even agree to repeat the (largely meaningless) pledge to keep the doors open for future membership of the Balkan countries, today EU Observer reports that the EU is preparing for the option to cancel the visa free travel regime the Balkan countries have enjoyed for over a decade.

Unlawful residency and unfounded asylum claims from some western Balkan states, plus Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine, is triggering discussions on suspending visa-free travel to the EU. The internal EU document, dated 27 September and seen by EU Observer, comes a day ahead of European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen’s Western Balkan tour, itself ahead of a Balkan and a separate Ukraine summit later this month. Frustration appears to be mounting among France, Germany, and Italy, amid a wider discussion on stopping the alleged abuse, EU Observer reports.

The document cites large increase in unfounded asylum claims from Balkan and other countries. Specifically for Macdonia, Belgium objected to having a high number of asylum seekers, calling it a “temporary summer phenomenon”, while also having an “alarming influx” of Moldovan asylum seekers. The Czech Republic pointed to large numbers of claims from Georgia, Moldova and the Ukraine. France named Albania, Georgia and to a lesser extent Serbia as its main issue.

European Commissioner Ylva Johansson responded to the report, saying that the EU has this tool at its disposal – to revoke the visa free travel regime for offending countries, but that at the moment the Balkan countries are not likely to be affected.