The Albania–Montenegro border separates the

Republic of 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 ...

and

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

Southeast Europe Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe is a geographical sub-region of Europe, consisting primarily of the region of the Balkans, as well as adjacent regions and Archipelago, archipelagos. There are overlapping and conflicting definitions of t ...

, it has a length of . At its southern end lies the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

, while its northeastern end terminates at the triple point with

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

(although this is contested by

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

). The border passes through

Lake Skadar Lake Skadar or Lake Scutari (, ; cnr-Cyrl-Latn, Скадарско језеро, Skadarsko jezero, )also called Lake Shkodra (and ''Lake Shkodër'')lies on the border of Albania and Montenegro, and is the largest lake in Southern Europe. It is n ...

, the largest lake in the

Balkan Peninsula 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 ...

Economic migration

The border between Albania and Montenegro is viewed by many

economic migrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

s as a route into the prosperous economies of Central and Western Europe. In 2018 entrepreneurial smugglers began to offer a new route into the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

, running from Greece through Albania, Montenegro and Bosnia to Croatia, a member state of the European Union. About 11,000 migrants from Asia and North Africa took this route and registered their arrival within the European Union in Bosnia in the first half of 2018, compared with 755 migrant arrivals in 2017.

Troop deployment

On 11 July 2018, Montenegro announced that it was deploying regular army troops along the border to stop illegal migrants from entering the country at the Bozaj crossing from Albania, from the Montenegrin city of

Podgorica Podgorica ( cnr-Cyrl, Подгорица; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city is just north of Lake Skadar and close to coastal destinations on the Adriatic Sea. Histor ...

Barrier

A border fence to block illegal entrants from crossing the border from Albania into Montenegro was proposed in May 2018. In June, Hungary offered to supply of razor-wire fencing to Montenegro. Montenegrin Prime Minister Dusko Markovic denied that his country was considering building a border fence in early July. On 24 July 2018, Hungarian Prime Minister

Viktor Orbán Viktor Mihály Orbán (; born 31 May 1963) is a Hungarian lawyer and politician who has been the 56th prime minister of Hungary since 2010, previously holding the office from 1998 to 2002. He has also led the Fidesz political party since 200 ...

met with Markovic and offered to help Montenegro to build a long fence along the border. Markovic thanked Orban for his offer, but responded that "For now, there are no reasons for that." Vojislav Dragovic, who is Head of the Border Department, has stated that a fence may be necessary because Albanian authorities have failed to abide by the bilateral readmission agreement that obliges them to admit migrants turned back by Montenegro.

Albanian community in Montenegro

Montenegro is also said to be concerned about recent growth of the small Albanian community in Montenegro.

Crossings

References