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The European Commission welcomes the signing of visa liberalization for Kosovo

Politiko 2023-04-20 14:53:11

The European Commission welcomes the signing of visa liberalization for Kosovo

The European Commission has welcomed the signing of the decision on the liberalization of visas for the citizens of Kosovo by the European Parliament and the Council.

Anita Hooper, spokeswoman for internal affairs at the European Commission, called this good news for the citizens of Kosovo and the realization of the aspirations that were put forward based on the Commission's proposal.

"Visa-free travel for Kosovo passport holders will become a reality on January 1, 2024 at the latest. After the agreement of the European Parliament and the Council on the basis of the proposal of the European Commission, holders of Kosovo passports will be allowed to travel to the European Union without visas for a maximum stay of up to 90 days in a period of 180 days," says a communique issued from the European Commission.

"Visa-free movement will bring benefits to citizens on both sides, it will further strengthen EU relations with Kosovo. Kosovo has continuously fulfilled all the criteria and conditions and has demonstrated commitment in this direction", it is stated in this communique.

In the communiqué of the European Commission, it is recalled that in 2016, the Commission had proposed to the Parliament and the Council to give the citizens of Kosovo the possibility of visa-free travel. Then in 2018, the Commission assessed that Kosovo had fulfilled all the requirements from the roadmap for visa liberalization.

According to the procedure for approving decisions in the EU, the Commission is a body that makes assessments and recommendations, while the decisions based on them are taken jointly by the Council of the EU and the European Parliament.

This is what happened with the visa liberalization process for Kosovo, for which the decision was signed on April 19 by the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, and Sweden's Minister for European Union Affairs, on behalf of the Council.

Now only the publication in the EU official newspaper and the entry into force of this decision are expected./ REL

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