"Reintroducing visas would be a big step backwards," according to Fajon. "The right to visa-free travel is the clearest achievement of these countries in the path towards the EU," she said in a statement.

It would be more dangerous, she said, to close the door and isolate the region than to pursue a close dialogue and address the problem - the dire economic conditions that are forcing people to emigrate.

Kacin, the European Parliament's rapporteur for Serbia, believes that the appeal should "sound the alarm" in political circles in the Western Balkans. "They need to show in record time how operational they are and how they are capable of changing their priorities."

However, he was quick to point out that the majority of MEPs opposed the motion. The European Parliament will do "everything it can...to provide a negative opinion."

The reaction comes after Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands called for a reconsideration of the visa-free system, which they claim is increasingly being abused for asylum requests.