European Commission appeals to EU states: Visas for Kosovo to be removed without delay

Kosovo still meets the standards to benefit from visa liberalisation.

It is this position the European Commission will hold in progress for 2022, the stance confirmed by Anitta Hyper, the European Commission's spokeswoman for Internal Affairs, Migration and Internal Security.

The “Commission confirmed in July 2018 that Kosovo met all visa Liberalisation Guide standards. Our assessment still stands at”, Hyper says in a statement made by the European Commission headquarters in Brussels for dtt-net portals. Comm with headquarters in Brussels and the leader.mk with headquarters in Skopje.

Hyper recalls that following the European Parliament's favourable vote in 2019, it is now up to European Union member states to advance the issue.

We encourage them to continue removing visas for Kosovo. In addition, we regularly offer a mirror of Kosovo's performance in various relevant areas for standards through the enlargement countries' reports. An up-to-date mirror has been offered on October 19, 2021, which shows that Kosovo still meets standards. To support the decision-making of member states, we will present our 2022 enlargement report this year, accompanied by a technical update on the visa liberalisation issue”, the spokeswoman Hyper adds.

The EC is currently working on preparing this technical update in consultation with the presidency of the Council and Member States. According to spokeswoman Hyper, this update will only be a technical document, presenting an up-to-date game situation in those areas related to visa liberalisation standards, to support discussions on the Council.

It is our assessment that Kosovo meets all of its Visa Liberalisation Guide standards. Technical updates will not represent a new assessment and will not add any new conditions or reference points. Once again, in turn, we encourage member states to continue with abolishing visas for Kosovo. Technical updates are intended to support the decision of Member States”, ends in its proposal and spokeswoman Hyper.

The EU has removed visas in 2009 and 2010 for all Western Balkan countries, while Kosovo is the only country still facing visa regimes.