The number of asylum requests from Serbia, FYRMacedonia and Montenegro sent to the authorities of the German state of Bavaria has risen drastically, which could endanger visa liberalization in those Balkan countries, said Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Hermann.

If the number of asylum seekers continued to grow, the EU could decide to reconsider reversing visa liberalization, which was introduced at the beginning of 2010, stated Hermann on Tuesday. Compared to merely 59 Serbian and Macedonian citizens who sought asylum in Bavaria last year, according to data Hermann produced, there were 130 Serbian and 260 Macedonian asylum seekers until October 15, 2010.

He noted that this could be the consequence of the misinformation that those who accept voluntary deportation could receive money assistance provided they had sought asylum previously. Hermann underscored that it is a false information, since asylum seekers from Serbia and FYRMacedonia do not receive money assistance for return from Bavaria.

Meanwhile, Germany entirely abated paying once-off assistance to Serbian and Macedonian returnees. Bavarian Minister of European Affairs Emilia Mueller will discuss this issue with Serbian authorities during her visit to Serbia on Wednesday, announced Munich.