14 minutes agoPositive recommendation will pave the way for visa liberalisation after six months
Periskopi(8 years ago)
(8 years ago)Kosovo expects next week, the European Commission will come up with positive recommendations on visa liberalisation, meanwhile, until December the entire process is completed. According to these expectations, Kosovo citizens will be able to move freely, without visas in the Schengen area, from January, in February 2019 respectively. In [...]
In the European Commission's recommendation for visa liberalisation, a continued monitoring of Kosovo will reportedly be required in the engagement and fighting of organised crime and corruption, in particular of cases set within the criteria.
European Integration Minister Litera Hoxha, who has held meetings in Brussels at the time the report is expected to be published with recommendations, in a conversation for Radio Free Europe said it is the moment when the European Union must recognise progress in Kosovo and meet the criteria.
From my visit to Brussels, I can say that I do not expect surprise and expect positive recommendation from the European Commission, and of course this recommendation will be the result of meeting all criteria derived from the guide. I expect EU institutions to fulfill their promises, as Kosovo has met all criteria for visa liberalisation”, Hoxha said.
She believes procedures over the liberalisation issue will be completed within this year.
I think that Kosovo has fulfilled all the criteria from the guide received in 2012, so based on meeting the conditions I expect positive recommendation from the European Commission”, Hoxha says.
She adds that there is no precise date when the visa recommendations are expected to be published, but it could happen to be published early July, 2018.
On the other hand, Naim Rashit, director of the Balkan Policy Group, says the European Commission's opinion has had to be published this week or earlier, but as he says, they are afraid of the Council's reactions and have been left behind the Council of Europe in the early days of next week, to be published with the opinion which reconfirms the Commission's positive stance on meeting the criteria.
“in May 2016, recommendation has been made officially and the implementation of the two criteria is required, in the meantime as it has long passed and the demarcation vote was delayed, the EU had sent another assessment mission which has already prepared the report, and the Commission is unanimous as the Commission is like the Commission to reconfirm the positive position on Kosovo to meet the” criteria, Rashi said.
Of course, Rashi adds, it will be such a language because of Council member states that will require a continued monitoring of Kosovo in the fight against crime and corruption, in particular the cases imposed on criteria.
All of this adds to Rashi's opening the way for the next decision-making process of political discussions on the Council.
The first “of work is that the Council has finally decided positively for Albania and Macedonia and I believe that in this spirit future work will continue because these were more difficult decisions than visa liberalisation and were encouraging decisions and saved the enlargement agenda. The second, procedurally this year's recent meeting of the Council of Ministers of Justice and Internal Affairs is on December 4th, and actually by December 4th it would have to finish the main work”, Rashi adds.
The positive decision on visa liberalisation for Kosovo is not made without Germany and France, Rashi points out, and according to him, if these countries have positive opinions, it is believed that other countries, who are skeptical like the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark, would not make big trouble.
I believe that by the end of the year there is a decision, then there is a 20-day procedure case after the decision is entered into force. The idea is not to procrastinate political decision-making processes”, Rashi says.
The “has an awareness within the EU that this process should be carried out before January or February because in March onwards, preparations for European-level elections for Europe's new Parliament and there may then be trouble and the European Parliament, according to all analysis, it will look different from what is from this Parliament, which has a positive approach in relation to visa liberalisation for Kosovo and I believe more January February will be in force<1>, Rashi says.
Kosovo institutions' leaders have promised their citizens visa liberalisation since 2010.
For promises and deadlines to meet European Commission criteria, the heads of institutions in Pristina were criticised several times by international mechanisms.
