If the EU grants visa-free access to Kosovo… |
Belgrade issues special Serbian passports to Kosovo Serbs. However, this document does not allow you to go to third countries without a visa
In the ethnically divisive Balkans, few issues can unite people as much as visa liberalization.
Kosovars are the only citizens in the Balkans who still enter the Schengen zone with a visa. Many Kosovans perceive this as a second-class citizen attitude towards them. With a population of 1.7 million people, most of whom are ethnic Albanians, Kosovo is a partially recognized country.
Europe In addition to the 22 members of the European Union (EU), the Schengen area, which includes 4 more countries, regulates visa regulations. Europe Kosovo is also on the agenda of the meeting of the Visa Working Party of the Council of Heads of State and Government on October 13. The Czech Republic, which has just entered the presidency of the EU, has put Kosovo on its priority list. This gives Kosovars hope.
“European Union will review the technical aspects very soon and I hope that an agreement will be reached on visa liberalization for Kosovo during the Czech presidency”, – Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Jan Lipavsky he said in Pristina on September 29.
This issue is Spain, Greece and several EU countries, including Romania, which do not officially recognize Kosovo’s independence, are facing vexing questions.
However France and pressure can be observed from the Netherlands. These two countries are mainly blamed for not allowing Kosovars to enter the Schengen zone without visas.
Recent mixed signals on enlargement have undermined confidence in the EU in the Balkans. Bulgaria, a member of the EU, has vetoed the accession talks with North Macedonia. But at the same time Ukraine and Moldova’s appeal applications were brought forward with an accelerated procedure. However, these two countries have not made serious progress regarding the EU’s demands.
2018In , both the European Commission and the European parliament He concluded that Kosovo met all the requirements. After all, Brussels’ failure to grant visa-free entry status to Kosovo is disappointing to Pristina.
President of Kosovo Vyosa Osmaniis reported to have complained to Lipavski about this. He said that injustice was committed against Kosovars.
Travel allowance to the West is a very sensitive topic in the Balkans. During the Cold War, citizens with a Yugoslav passport could move freely between East and West. However, with the collapse of the “Iron Curtain” and the disintegration of Yugoslavia, this privilege disappeared.
The isolation of the following decades was only gradual, 20In 2009, it began to disappear after the EU introduced visa-free travel rules to countries such as Serbia, Montenegro and now North Macedonia.
The issue of recognition of Kosovo’s independence complicates matters. Serbia refuses to recognize the independence of its former province and maintains close ties with the ethnic Serb population of northern Kosovo through shadow institutions and infrastructure. Pristina is unhappy with this.
Belgrade issues special Serbian passports to Kosovo Serbs through the Coordination Directorate of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs. However, this document does not allow you to go to third countries without a visa.
Progress on Schengen visas would not only make things easier for Kosovar travelers, but also encourage Serbs living in Kosovo to support a system they do not want to recognize as sovereign.
Kosovars are the youngest population in Europe. At the same time, Kosovo, like its neighbors, is facing a demographic crisis. Because its citizens are economic and political they leave their country in search of safety.
Some critics say that opening Schengen borders to short, visa-free visits would encourage more people to emigrate or open a path for illegal migration.