Visa liberalisation, Kosovo does not look at top EU priorities

The chances are becoming lower now when Portugal is leading the EU presidency. In the Government of Kosovo, they do not answer about this topic, while connoisseurs and integrations voiced sceptical that visa liberalisation occurs this year.

Kosovo has met all criteria, but still does not enjoy the right to free movement of European Union countries.

France and the Netherlands are countries that have expressed scepticism in giving the green light to Kosovars, even though European Union mechanisms themselves have declared Kosovo has met the criteria for free movement.

MP Blerta Deliu-Codra, part of the parliamentary commission for European integration, says the Government of Kosovo has never been weaker in concreteising arguments on the visa liberalisation issue.

I regret to say that where we brought the preliminary governments and we who were in power, are left, or there are steps back to getting this agenda back. Never has the least been discussed in terms of this process, never has there been less exchange among states concerning the visa liberalisation process, and never has there been less co-operation with the international spectrum that are the European Union and the United States of America concerning foreign policy”, she says.

The year 2020 was a year of hope for Kosovars because of the German presidency in the EU, but it seems that the pandemic has oriented European Union policies elsewhere.

Kosovo does not look at top EU priorities.

Emir Abrashi from Democracy Plus says the European Union now has more important issues than visa liberalisation for Kosovars, citing here the fight against pandemic, budgetary processes and Brex.

I don't expect any major moves on Portugal's side, but in the second half of 2021, the presidency passes Slovenia, and in this respect I think we should start working with the Slovenian government, with our allies in Slovenia so that we can push ahead with these processes because we know Slovenia is a little more sensitive to these processes because it itself has been part of the same federation that has been part of the entire Western Balkans. Perhaps Slovenia's presidency will be more favourable for integration processes throughout the Balkans”, he says.

While international relations professor Africa Hoti considers the process is already delayed and has passed all necessary limits.

Now everything is at the speculating level because we're talking about over-extended processes that have crossed any limits, we definitely have to see alternative possibilities, such as what all the countries of the region, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, part of the Republic of Serbia, Macedonia, not trumpeting but looking at other alternative opportunities to ensure free movement because the end here is not about any privilege but we're talking about a fundamentalment of people moving freely”, he says.

In 2018, the European Commission had confirmed that Kosovo has fulfilled all criteria and recommended abolishing visas.

However, the approval of each EU member state is needed for the last isolated country in the Western Balkans to enjoy free movement in the Schengen area.