Macroni's warning of opposition alaramon visas: Kurt will know that the time of counsel and words has passed

France's President Emmanuel Macron on Monday in a speech to ambassadors has spoken about relations between Kosovo and Serbia.

Macron said they expect Kosovo and Serbia to have a clear commitment to the road ahead.

In fact, the French president warned measures if both countries “do not act responsibly”

We expect peace to return to this part. France and Germany have made pledges regarding visa policies and other economic issues, which will be revised if the two sides fail to act responsibly. We should be extremely careful in this regard, especially when the stability of the Western Balkans is at stake.”, Macro said.

And this stance of the president of France has alarmed opposition parties in Kosovo, which have called on Prime Minister Albin Kurti not to jeopardise the freedom of movement of citizens.

PDK Deputy Chairman Vlora Citaku has stressed that France's President Emmanuel Macron's statement reconfirms the position of the European Union, adding that it is time to take concrete measures to resolve the conflict in the region.

Citaku has stressed the importance of this statement and has said the Government of Kosovo should seriously address it.

President Macro's “Declaration to review visa policies for Kosovo and Serbia, if the parties do not act responsibly, should be taken seriously by the Government. This statement reconfirms the position of the EU, that the time of words and counsel has already passed”, it has written on the social network, Facebook.

Citaku has stressed that revising the visa policies for Kosovo citizens, if not the right steps towards resolving the conflict, would be a serious intervention.

LDK MP Gerarta Krasniqi has reacted to the French president's statement, saying it is a disaster if the EU countries' position on the visa issue is considered.

“It is a disaster for the country if we arrive at such a situation for the EU countries' position in terms of visa liberalisation for the country, but if that happens, the responsibility falls to the Kurti government, which with its adventures, is only bringing bad things to the country, as we have so far the sanctions, as a result of packaged and well thought-out actions in the northern part of the country. I reiterated, it is tremendous damage if such an opinion is created within EU countries that there be delays on the visa liberalisation issue”, she has said in a statement to Gazeta Blic.

The Macron Declaration has also considered it disturbing analyst Imer Mushkolaj.

Mushkolaj has stressed that it is disturbing to bring into question the revision of the visa regime with Kosovo as a kind of stick tied to Kosovo for failing to meet EU requirements.

“For me has been interesting to see the French president's statements of warning about the possibility of visa review, which was a kind of mild or indirect threat to Kosovo... is of concern that comes into question reviewing the visa regime with Kosovo as a kind of pole for failing to meet the requirements of the EU”, Mushkolaj has said.

Ambassadors of European Union member states agreed on November 30th last year to grant the European Council mandate to negotiate the visa liberalisation process for Kosovo with the European Parliament.

The visa-free movement for Kosovars will be allowed by January 1st 2024.

Macroni's comments come at a time when Kosovo has been constantly called on to return to dialogue with Serbia and organise new elections in the country's north.