Civil society, letter to the European Parliament: Take our visas off.

Periskopi

4 June 2018, 18:41(8 years ago)

Renowned names of civil society and media have been addressed through a letter to the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, by which they have asked to win a visa liberalisation decision for Kosovo citizens as the reason for this they have mentioned four reasons and are: [...]

They have mentioned four reasons for this:

1. Kosovo citizens are the only ones from around the region to whom the Schengen visa regime applies, with all our social will for the European integration process.

2. As a society, we are losing great chances for transformation based on European models because we are deprived of the opportunity to exchange experiences with citizens of EU member states.

3. We have found that the isolation of young people has been a driving factor for involvement in radical and extremist organisations, especially those based in the Middle East.

4. And, more importantly, we think Kosovo has met the measurable criteria stemming from the visa liberalisation process.

Full letter with signed names is published without any interference:

To: European Commission, European Parliament and European Union Council

An Open Letter From Kosovo Civil Society

Honored commissioners, Europarliamentaries and ministers of member states of the European Union,

Kosovo citizens are the only ones in Europe who do not enjoy the right to free movement within the Schengen Zone. It has been a decade since our country has been subjected to reforms and meeting specific conditions under the liberalisation process. Thousands of students, successful art personalities, culture, sports, still have to submit to the visa regime, which limits the stance for a specific timetable. Whole families cannot visit their families, places, and cities. They also have no opportunity to get acquainted with European cultural values, while in theory they teach their children that Kosovo's perspective is in the European Union. Very few young Kosovo people have had the chance to see any European state, because even study visits are difficultly feasible projects because of the harsh visa regime. There is my perception in Kosovo that the EU has put forward specific requirements and is discriminated against Kosovo in terms of visa liberalisation. We have been through a political blockade for three years in a row because of the issue of demarcation of the border with Montenegro, the criteria set during the liberalisation process. The issue, in addition to polarising the political scene, has divided citizens, has increased citizens' uncertainty and trust towards Kosovo political parties and Brussels authorities. Despite the high sensitivity of this issue we have found the approval mode of the Demarket Agreement, since it has been specifically required criteria for visa liberalisation.

Now, honoured Europarliamentaries and ministers of member states of the European Union, you are ahead of making the visa liberalisation decision for Kosovo citizens.

We, as Kosovo civil society, call on you to make decisions FOR visa liberalisation for Kosovo, among other things, for these reasons: 1. Kosovo citizens are the only ones, from around the region, to whom the Schengen visa regime applies, with all our social will for the European integration process. 2. As a society, we are losing great chances for transformation based on European models because we are deprived of the opportunity to exchange experiences with citizens of EU member states. 3. We have found that the isolation of young people has been a driving factor for involvement in radical and extremist organisations, especially those based in the Middle East. 4. And, more importantly, we think Kosovo has met the measurable criteria stemming from the visa liberalisation process. We expect the final report on visa liberalisation to be positive and call on the European Parliament, the Council of Ministers, and especially the EU member states to vote in favour of visa liberalisation for Kosovo citizens. We support the EU's intention to establish control in the course of migration and introduce mechanisms for suspending visa liberalisation, as is applicable to other states. We consider that Kosovo is not a risk of migration for the EU.

Given that the European Union will hold elections early next year, we strongly hope that this decision will be made in June of this year, in order for citizens of Kosovo's biometric passports holders to enjoy the right to short and visa-free travel to the Schengen Zone.

Any eventual delay in the Council's decision on visa liberalisation would seriously damage the ambition of Kosovo society for European integration and would be widely experienced as discrimination against Kosovo citizens, as well as in relation to the region.

Therefore, honoured Europarliamentaries and ministers of member states of the European Union, we call on EU member states to approve the decision as soon as possible and decide on visa liberalisation for Kosovo citizens.

The statement is backed by: Adriatic Kelmendi, Publicist

Ariyana Qosja, U.C. Activist.

Artan Demhay, U.S. Activist.

Astrit Gashi, Publicist.

Berat Buzhala, Publicist.

Dastid Pallaska, Lawyer.

Dusan Radakovic, U.C. Activist.

Eliza Hoxha, Artist.

Fadil Vokrri, President to NFK.

Fahredin Spahija, Fotograph.

Igballe Rugova, U.C. Activist.

Imer Mushkolaj, Publicist.