On Tuesday, the European Parliament endorsed the agreement on short-stay visa freedom with Kosovo.
Citizens of Kosovo will be allowed to travel to the EU –and EU citizens to go to Kosovo- without requesting a visa, for periods of up to 90 days in any 180-day period. After the law has entered into force, the entire Western Balkans region will have a similar visa framework for the Schengen area.
The visa exemption will enter into force once the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) is in place and in any case by 2024.
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Rapporteur Thijs Reuten (S&D, the Netherlands) said:
“After years in the waiting room, Kosovo is now the last one in the Western Balkan region to join our visa-free regime. This finally enables the people of Kosovo to easily travel, visit relatives and do business in the EU. But it is more than that: this milestone is also an important foundation for the future and ever-closer cooperation between the EU and Kosovo.”
Signing into law and press conference
On Wednesday 19 April, the act will be signed into law in Strasbourg by European Parliament President Roberta Metsola and the Swedish Presidency of the Council.
The signing will be followed by a press conference with the Rapporteur, Thijs Reuten, and Besnik Bislimi, the Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo, in Parliament’s Daphne Caruana Galizia Press room at 15.15 CEST. You can follow the press conference here, and journalists can ask questions also via Interactio.
Background
Kosovo is a potential candidate for EU accession and unilaterally declared its independence in February 2008. Its independence is currently not recognised by five EU member states (Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Slovakia and Spain). The European Parliament has supported visa liberalisation with Kosovo since 2016, after the Commission declared that Kosovo fulfils the criteria of its roadmap for visa liberalisation. Kosovo is currently the only part of the Western Balkans region to not enjoy visa-free travel on short stays with the Schengen area.
Source – EU Parliament
Kosovo finally joins rest of Western Balkans in visa-free travel to EU
Brussels, 18 April 2023
Today, Kosovo finally gets the European Parliament’s green light for visa-free travel to the European Union. On Wednesday, the final act on visa liberalisation with Kosovo will be signed at the ceremony in Strasbourg.
The citizens of Kosovo are the last among our Western Balkan neighbours that still need a visa to travel to the EU for holidays, family visits and business trips, but not for much longer.
As of 1 January 2024 at the latest, Kosovo passport holders will be able to travel to the EU without a visa for a stay of 90 days in any 180-day timespan.
Thijs Reuten, the European Parliament rapporteur on visa liberalisation with Kosovo, said:
“This is a long-awaited and well-deserved moment for the citizens of Kosovo. For the EU, it is high time to realise the promise made long ago. Soon, there will be no black hole on the visa-free map of the Western Balkans anymore.
“Also, this is much more than a bureaucratic burden relief – it is an important milestone on Kosovo’s path to the European Union. A new chapter for Kosovo, for the region and for Europe. It is a meaningful foundation for further cooperation on our shared European future. We are proud to be a driving force behind this historic achievement.”
Andreas Schieder, S&D MEP and shadow rapporteur on Kosovo, added:
“The next step is to ensure progress regarding Kosovo’s application for EU membership. The EU accession process is the only guarantee for real reforms and lasting peace in the region. Kosovo’s path to the EU will be long, but the reforms carried out along the way will improve the lives of the people.
“To achieve genuine progress, it is crucial for Kosovo and Serbia to continue working on the normalisation of their relations and to avoid escalation, as this would severely undermine the security situation of the entire region.”
Source – S&D Group Press Release – Email