More than 170,000 people left Kosovo between 2013 and 2017, the Internal Affairs Ministry in Pristina said in its latest report, adding that the figure includes both legal and illegal immigrants, Radio Free Europe reported.

The ministry report said that most people from Kosovo move to EU member states but added that a percentage go to the United States and Canada.

The mass departure from Kosovo shows that nothing has been done over the past two years economy-wise to make people want to stay, Belgrade based portal B92 quotes the Albanian language website indeksonline.net.

According to the website, almost 40,000 people are currently waiting for the German embassy to reply to their applications to be granted working visas, so they can leave Kosovo as soon as possible.

The EU has announced that it signed an agreement with Albania that will allow its border patrols to be present and work in that country.

According to AP, cited by Tanjug, this is "the first time the bloc has concluded such an accord." The deal is aimed at tackling irregular migration, in particular sudden changes in migratory flows, and cross-border crime, it was stated in Brussels on Friday.

Serbia will strive firmly to be part of the EU, says Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic. He underlined that his country has done more in the refugee crisis than several EU members.

Aleksandar Vucic spoke to DW on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

DW: There are many refugees in Serbia at the moment. Your country has been criticized by several EU member states for your approach to the refugee crisis.

Asylum seekers and their reintegration has been a topic of discussion at a table with Interior Minister Skender Hyseni and mayors of several municipalities. Hyseni said his ministry together with the municipalities will have to continue with awareness campaigns on repatriation benefits.  "The reintegration and repatriation process will continue even after the Europpean Commission recommends  visa liberalization for Kosovo.

The paper’s Brussels-based correspondent, Augustin Palokaj, in an opinion piece today writes that the European Union considers Kosovo as a safe place of origin in terms of access to asylum seekers from Kosovo. But, according to him, the EU and many member states consider the security situation in Kosovo still "fragile". “The EU also faces a logical question: If Kosovo is a safe place, then why it needs foreign soldiers and police officers.

Serbian Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic told CNN's reporter Christiane Amanpour that the migrants issue is a problem the entire Europe is facing and called for coming up with a coherent plan for the entire continent.

Volker Kauder, a senior member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), said Balkan citizens with little prospect of asylum should be sent home more quickly.