No visa before 2020

That, according to them, has happened after scepticism expressed by individual European Union member states for a positive decision on Kosovo regarding visa liberalisation.

On the other hand, connoisseurs of European integrations and representatives of civil society in Kosovo think that as things are working out, the issue of liberalisation for Kosovo will be postponed until 2020.

Jehona Lushaku é Sadriou, political and informed European integrations, tells Radio Free Europe that not including visa liberalisation for Kosovo citizens in the agenda of the EU Council of Ministers' meeting suggests that the whole process and final decision could be postponed for 2020.

Elections in the European Union will be held in the spring of next year, so according to Lucak, a positive decision on visa liberalisation can be made during 2019.

“Let's not forget that states are having difficulties and lack of political will to push this issue forward, because it will then have an impact on the outcome of their elections, and these consequences will be carried even in the months of 2019, so this job will be apparently postponed by 2020<181>, Lusak said.

The positive recommendation for visa liberalisation by the European Commission came in July this year, meanwhile, in favour of liberalisation by the European Parliament in September.

Lushaku é Sadriu says this is the main basis that EU member states must assess.

But, as she says, states have their own representations and individual assessments regarding meeting the conditions, which concern fighting corruption and rule of law, which have been the last criteria for meeting the liberalisation process. Thus, states enjoy veto power to block this process as they are not convinced that Kosovo has met these criteria.

Therefore, we are seeing that this lack of will has a basis for individual assessment of each state and then should also be assessed that since there are elections in the European Union, each state makes political calculations about what the positive decision of visa liberalisation could bring, impact on their domestic developments and in the elections for the European Union” said Lusaku.

In the recent vote for visa liberalisation for Kosovo has been viewed as hesitation by Germany, France and the Netherlands, but this number of states, according to experts in the field, has now moved to 10 or 12 states.

The EU's reluctance to establish a clear perspective on visa liberalisation has prompted reactions not only of civil society, but also of ministers.

Minister of Infrastructure in the Government of Kosovo, Pal Lekaj, has said there should be no compromise in the right to have sovereignty, integrity, move freely and be respected for the decisions the country officials make. In a Facebook post, he wrote that “tax 100 per cent will continue until there is no recognition from Serbia, liberalisation and full recognition from the EU”.

And through a media communique, the Kosovo Institute for European Policy (EPIK) has provided some explanations, which according to this institute show the procedure why the visa liberalisation issue cannot enter the EU Council agenda on December 6th-7, without a preliminary vote by the European Parliament.

“in this direction, Article 294 specifys that in the first reading the European Parliament will approve its simple majority stance and communicate it to the Council. Later, the Council approves its position with the double majority, meaning 55 percent of member states representing 65 percent of the population, and the legislative act in question is approved in the form corresponding to the position of the European Parliament” is highlighted in the communique.

The legislative act takes effect 20 days after publishing in the EU Official Journal. Therefore, by taking over the Treaty for EU Function, Article 294, the EPIB Institute confirms that the visa liberalisation issue cannot enter the EU Council agenda by 6-7 December, without a preliminary vote by the European Parliament, which is impossible to happen this week”, the EPI Institute points out.

Representatives of several organisations from civil society, on the day of European Union Commissioner Johannes Hahn's visit to Pristina, had placed a banner in front of the EU Office, which read “Welcome to Kosovo, Hahn! We are for reciprocity, so you need visas to enter Kosovo. For a visa, you need 45 different documents and 35 euros (a visa calendar).

Otherwise, Kosovo remains the last of the Western Balkan countries that have not completed the visa liberalisation process.