Kosovo could remain without visa liberalisation even in 2018

To liberalise visas, there are also two criteria Kosovo must meet, demarcation with Montenegro and the fight against corruption.

However, the visa liberalisation process is currently blocked by European Union institutions. All this is due to the delay in establishing Kosovo institutions, which has also blocked meeting key criteria.

This delay may also prevent visa liberalisation from taking place in 2018, since the entire deadline from unblocking the process until the final stage can take a long time.

So says European Affairs connoisseur Avni Mazrek, who through a prononcination for Indexline, has shown all the processes Kosovo must pass to the final phase of visa liberalisation.

The visa liberalisation process is currently blocked by European Union institutions. This process will be blocked until the agreement on demarcation of the border with Montenegro is ratified. After unblocking the process, the issue will be passed to the European Parliament to get a consent on their part, after this consent is achieved, the issue must be prosecuted at the European Union Council, where the final decision is expected to be made, respectively, the configuration of interior affairs ministers of the member states of the European Union”, Mazreku has said.

Although it is not possible to preach for a possible time, Mazreku points out about how much time these procedures can take.

“From processing agreement with the border with Montenegro and to the most optimistic version possible, only the procedural aspects take several months. After that, other procedures to the final decision also take months, always wondering that the decision will be positive for Kosovo. While, only after making the final decision, the procedures range from 3 to 6 months at least to begin full implementation of that decision on the part of the European Union”, he has added.

The Kosovo Committee for Jury and Political Studies says citizens are continuing to be isolated for the blame themselves of governments who have often failed to pay due attention to meeting the criteria in the process.

Albana Merija from this group, in a procurement of Indexline, says that it is not enough to meet the criteria.

“It is not enough to meet only these criteria for Kosovo to benefit from visa liberalisation, but it requires a proactive approach of the new government to reintroduce the agenda of European Union institutions on this issue. That is because the decision on visa liberalisation should be passed to the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers of the EU, which may take time if it is not given due attention by the new government to the lobbiing process and avocation to EU institutions”, Merja has said.