Hoxha: Kosovo at the end of visa liberalisation process

After the meeting of the ministers responsible for European affairs in Vienna, European Integration Minister Donus Hoxha has declared that Kosovo welcomes and praises its partnership with Austria and expressed gratitude to Minister BIümel for its efforts to advance the strategic agenda for the European perspective of Western Balkan countries.

According to Hoxha, at this meeting it has been discussed the importance of the EU focusing its foreign policy until 2025 and further on the enlargement process with Western Balkan countries. Hoxha has declared that the involvement of the Western Balkans is crucial to the region's stability and development.

“The enlargement strategy, which was published last year, was more than welcome, giving us a clear message about the European perspective of this part of Europe. However, I stressed the importance of the fact that Western Balkan countries are offered with more decisive and concrete steps on the European road. It is clear that all Western Balkan countries aspire to EU membership, yet this is a negotiation process that needs to be conducted carefully.”, she has said.

It has added that the Republic of Kosovo is in the final phase of the visa liberalisation process.

“Although citizens of the Republic of Kosovo are the most pro-EU in Europe, Kosovo is the only country with visa regimes and we will encourage member states to speed up the decision-making process after confirming by the European Commission that Kosovo has met all criteria from the guide. We, too, focused on financial assistance from the EU to the Western Balkan countries and stressed the importance of the EU increasing the overall efficiency of investment projects in Kosovo and the region. Also, an important aspect would be the growth of EU grants for various infrastructure projects. ”, Hoxha said.