13 minutes agoNetherlands' scepticism for visa liberalisation for Kosovo, Czech top diplomat points out details from talks with Dutch Foreign Minister
Periskopi(4 years ago)
(4 years ago)Czech top diplomat Jan Lipavskão at a media conference in Pristina has given his Government support for the visa liberalisation process. Lipavsk '%s' has said his visit to Pristina comes exactly when the Czech Republic holds the EU presidency and that one of their priorities is the Western Balkans [...]
Lipavskão has said his visit to Pristina comes exactly when the Czech Republic holds the EU presidency and that one of their priorities is the Western Balkans, including Kosovo.
The Czech Foreign Minister has indicated that little work is needed on the visa issue, but that, as he said, “are on the right track to find political support for this process to be completed.
He said the Czech presidency is working in this direction and that its expectations are high.
Lipavsk '% said it cannot give dates for this process, but has confirmed that it has also called for the Dutch position, which is one of the sceptical states for visa liberalisation for Kosovo.
The Czech top diplomat has said that the Dutch Foreign Minister has said they will first review the technical aspects to make political decisions.
It is a process which consists of technical aspects and that political decisions. The EU will soon review technical issues.
It's hard to predict the date. My expectations of political decisions are very high. It's too high on our political agenda. I've asked the Netherlands Foreign Affairs Minister for his position. He has said they will review the technical aspects, and then decide on the political aspect”, he said.
It is expected that the topic of visa liberalisation for Kosovo will be on the table in the autumn as soon as the European Commission finalises the updated version of the annual report.
In a response to the Online Reporter.net Journal, the European Commission has said that “is up to member states of the European Union to advance the visa liberalisation issue”, and that the EC encourages them to continue with this process.
From the EC, it has announced to Reporter.net that even this year it will present the report, accompanied by a technical update on the visa liberalisation issue, and that it is currently working on this update, which according to the EC is only “a technical document presenting the updated situation related to visa liberalisation standards to support the Council”.
From the EC, they have confirmed that Kosovo meets all visa Liberalisation Guide standards and that there is no new condition to move forward with this process.
