EC letter to EU countries on visa liberalization

The European Commission has sent to the member states of the European Union in the Council a detailed technical document confirming that Kosovo has met all the criteria for visa liberalization and that the Commission confirms that the proposal for the EU to liberalize visas for Kosovo.

Radio Free Europe has had access to this document, which will also be the basis for the discussion in the working group on visas in the Council on October 13 in Brussels. It is sent as a data refresher to inform EU member states and is not a formal report on the implementation of the roadmap as such a report was made earlier and there is no need for another one.

In this document, sent as a non-paper, examples are mentioned in detail that prove that Kosovo, even after 2018, when the Commission had confirmed the fulfillment of the criteria, has continued to make progress in all areas that are included in the guide for visas.

"Kosovo has put in place a strong legal and operational framework to fight corruption, organized crime and to deal with security and migration risks. This was also confirmed through the Commission's annual reports in the framework of the expansion package", it is stated in the conclusions of the document that was sent to the member countries.

In the same document, it is confirmed that Kosovo has continued to consolidate progress in the key areas identified in the roadmap for visa liberalization.

"As a result, the basis for the Commission's recommendation from 2018 to exclude citizens of Kosovo from the requirement for short-stay visas remains entirely valid", concludes the end of this report.

According to European Commission experts, in recent years Kosovo has strengthened the legal and institutional framework in areas such as document security, border and migration management, public order and security, fundamental rights related to freedom of movement, bringing them closer to EU standards.

The report confirms that the Ministry of Interior of Kosovo has ensured that all travel documents, passports, are biometric and are in accordance with international standards and those of the European Union.

According to this report, Kosovo has adapted the legislation even more with the EU in the field of coordinated border management. Also, significant progress has been made in the functioning of the judicial system, including efficiency, professionalism, responsibility and integrity.

Kosovo has achieved progress in the investigation and punishment of cases of organized crime.
Likewise, Kosovo has fulfilled the conditions for the repatriation of its citizens, who sought asylum in the EU and made the decision to leave.

The European Commission notes a positive trend in the number of visa refusals for Kosovo citizens from EU countries, as well as a decrease in the number of false asylum seekers.

All these data that have been mentioned in the document sent by the European Commission will serve the EU Council, which on October 13 will start the procedure aimed at finalizing the decision on the liberalization of visas for Kosovo./Rel