German TV ZDF: Kosovars want to travel, not escape

His hometown is like a prison, says Visar Kuchi. You feel like a criminal who needs to go through a detailed check. And then you waste a long time getting us a” visa. If you ever get one.

Visar Kuci is not a criminal, he is a concert master of the Kosovo Philharmonic. He lives in Pristina, Kosovo's capital, or as he says: “In the middle of Europe, in 2019 and we're isolated, I can't understand”. The new small state is still the only country in Europe, whose citizens in the EU's Schengen zone are allowed to travel on only one tourist visa.

When the Western Balkan Conference in Poznan is held Friday, it will also be debated over possible visa removal for Kosovo. In the summer of 2016, the European Commission decided that the country would meet all criteria for a visa-free regime, but nothing has changed so far. This is taking a long time “, says Visar Kuci. “In the meantime, people here have begun to lose faith in the EU, because so much has been promised and so little has happened”.

Can't easily get a visa

Visar Kuci knows it is very difficult to obtain a visa as Kosovo or Kosovo. He travels a lot like a musicist. For me, it is very important to travel to the EU, to Germany, Austria, France to the birthplace of classical music”. He often holds concerts with European colleagues. Once it had to cancel a concert because he had not received an office term and for that reason had not been equipped with a visa, although he had applied four months earlier, writes “ZDF”, follow Path.com.

There is only one of the many obstacles you need to overcome in Kosovo, if you want to get a visa: There should be a relatively large amount of money in the account. Much time is also needed to pass through the tiring bureaucratic process. And it should be remembered that no visas can be obtained, even if all criteria are met. It's so often that the target states are denying visas to young people because they fear they will not return.

“I would work better in Kosovo than in Germany”

Visar Kuci believes that most people actually want to stay in Kosovo at least if they have the same rights as other Europeans. However, if this doesn't happen, it will be a big disaster, as most will try to illegally remove”, he says. And: “I would rather work in Kosovo than in Germany or elsewhere in Europe”.

Just like Avd Shala. He is an engineer in the aircraft industry, studied in Hamburg, and after completing his training, he returned to Pristina even though he had the opportunity to continue working in Germany. I believed that our Kosovo society was capable of solving social and economic problems so at any cost I wanted to be there”.

Corruption and Nepotism

But, after returning to Kosovo, Avdiu finds no work. And he's not alone. He often meets other qualified people who are in vain looking for work. On the one hand, there are only a few countries in his profession. But, Avdiu sees another problem: the ruling parties share all kinds of jobs between them and if you're not in any of the best party circles, then you have no option of”.

In aviation, public announcements are made by authorities. He had three chances of applying three times, someone else got the job. In all these cases, there were people who were not trained, and recently someone was hired as deputy director of aviation safety, even though he had studied political science”.

He wants to stay, but maybe he should leave.

Avdi Shala has gone to court, he has indicted against the prime minister and against the Ministry of Infrastructure, Ecqime.com further announces. Although more than three years have passed, there is still no decision.

“We've worked so hard to build our existence here, we wanted to live here”, he says, referring to his wife and children. “Unfortunately, we are now seriously discussing the possibility of migration”. Outside the country, qualified workers like him are wanted. Avdiu still does not know how things will continue for him and his family. He is currently negotiating with two international airlines.

The Western Balkans conference returns to Germany's initiative called the Berlin Process. Each year since 2014, ten EU countries have met with Western Balkan countries to boost the region's development and support EU accession. The Western Balkans include Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Northern Macedonia, Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the EU accession process, Serbia and Montenegro are more advanced, and negotiations are under way. However, the region that was destroyed in individual states after Yugoslavia's collapse in the early 1990s is considered the central point of Europe. Ethnic, territorial and economic disputes do not leave the Western Balkans alone.