Visa shopping is costing Kosovars a monthly salary

I made the term. In October, I submitted (cline application) and received answers three days ago. I knew the procedures, paid health insurance 142 euros for six months, forms, photos and translations (have cost) up to 50 euros. At the embassy, for visas I paid 72 euros and ten euros per post. Monthly wages have not sufficed for these expenses”, he tells Radio Free Europe.

Embassys of European Union countries that are in Kosovo, including those in the Schengen area, continue to provide travel visas for citizens aimed at family union, businesses, jobs, students, tourists and certain emergency cases.

Lulzim Wessel, owner of a tourist agency, says the citizens' interest in appointing the term at the Embassy of Germany and Switzerland is enormous. According to him, a citizen pays over 200 euros for services to apply and regulate documents to travel to Germany. This value is higher for citizens applying for visas in the state of Switzerland.

Wessel shows that in most cases applications are rejected and citizens complain to travel agencies.

After the negative visa response, citizens do not get their money back for services, except health insurance. They come to us and complain”, he says.

Kosovo continues to be the only country in the Western Balkans, which has no visa liberalisation yet, despite meeting the criteria set by the European Union.

Visa liberalisation of Kosovo has been promised since 2011. Meanwhile, in 2018 The European Commission has considered that Kosovo has fulfilled all the criteria and recommended the removal of the visa regime to EU member states. Liberalisation has also been voted into the European Parliament, but the final decision has remained with the EU Council of Ministers.

For the visa liberalisation process, on November 12th, members of the Commission for Foreign Affairs and Diaspores in the Kosovo Assembly have held meetings with German Federal Republic Ambassador Jorn Rohde.

The chairman of this commission, Hakki Abazi, said after the meeting that the discussion with Ambassador Rohde was divided in several areas, starting with visa liberalisation, dialogue and bilateral co-operation of both states.

As for visas, Abazi says the German ambassador has said Germany's commitment is to complete this process as soon as possible.

The majority of European Union countries are for and consider that all conditions have been met. The ambassador's recommendation, however, was that our commitment to skeptical countries be direct, since common commitment must also be undertaken”, Abazi says.

France and the Netherlands are among the most skeptical states as far as the removal of the visa regime is concerned for Kosovo citizens.

In the EU, no movement towards liberalisation decision

There is no movement from the European Union towards the visa liberalisation decision for Kosovo, though calls for this to happen have been frequented.

The European Commission continues to reiterate the position that Kosovo has fulfilled all criteria and recommends visa liberalisation. The European Parliament continues to have the same position and requires that “without delay” be liberalised for Kosovo.

Calls for visa liberalisation for Kosovo are warned that such a thing would help boost EU credibility in the region and would also help in the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia.

But the issue remains blocked on the Council at the level of working groups and there is no plan for this to change before the end of this year.

Diplomatic sources in Brussels are not optimistic even about the possibility of any change taking place early next year.

France is mentioned as one of the biggest opponents to date of visa liberalisation for Kosovo. This country in the first part of next year will have the rotating EU chairmanship, as will elections. The reasons for France to decide this issue in order days and to commit to abolishing visas are not great. Eventually toward the end of the French Presidency, or about June 2022, things can move.

Among the reasons that are obstacles to visa liberalisation for Kosovo are poor experiences that some EU states, particularly France, are dealing with misuse of free movement on the part of citizens of countries who have liberalisation, such as Albania, Georgia, Serbia and other states.

Ahaz: Positive developments are expected after elections in France
Even ruling party deputy Vetevendosje Movement Hakki Abazi says that sometimes the processes in the European Union depend also on national policies and developments of the European bloc's member states.

We expect positive developments and the outcome of this process after elections in France. In the visits we have, especially in Brussels with members of the European Parliament from other states that have been able to show a dose of scepticism, we have talked about, we are in the course of negotiations is good that one, the second state to have shown this scepticism, seems more relaxed in terms of the issue that visa”, Abazi says.

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti on 6 October, at the European Union and Western Balkan countries summit, which has been held in Slovenia, has said that “has spent more than three years that the European Commission has recommended for the second time visa liberalisation for Kosovo citizens”.

He has said he had great injustice and lack of justice towards the citizens of the state of Kosovo, which, according to him, suffered greatly.

We hope that at this summit, the European Union will remain faithful to its essence, enlargement”, Kurti said.