EU to carefully monitor implementation of visa liberalisation by Kosovo

Kosovo citizens can travel visa-free to 27 members of the Schengen area and are the last in the Western Balkan region to enjoy visa-free travel rights in the area.

As with other countries in the region, which for a long time enjoy free visa-free movement, the European Commission will report on the state of implementation of visa liberalisation under reports from Mechanism for suspension of visa liberalisation.

An EU diplomatic source told Free Europe Radio that there is curiosity among member states to see how the implementation of this process will go in the case of Kosovo. The same source said that in the main issues, Kosovo has so far had a very good performance, even better than the countries before it had liberalisation. It's mainly about the number of unemployed asylum seekers and Kosovo's willingness to accept persons expelled from EU states.

After implementing the decision on liberalisation has started, the EU will particularly monitor the number of misuses of free movement, with particular focus on staying beyond the allowed deadline, illegal engagement in the labour market and engagement in criminal acts.

Visa liberalisation enables Kosovo citizens, who have biometric passports, to stay up to 90 days within six months in either of the 27 members of the Schengen area.

Visaless travel serves for tourist visits, family issues, or similar ones. However, visa liberalisation does not imply work permits or other benefits.

Government rejects EC proposal to abolish visas for Kosovo citizens who have Serbia's passports

The European bloc's priorities for this year will be for Kosovo and other states in the region to make more progress in adopting the visa regime for citizens of third countries with EU visa policy.

We have repeated several times, including at higher-level meetings, that we expect our partners in the region to adapt their visa regime to that of the EU. We believe this is a reasonable requirement, if we have enabled free visa-free movement to citizens of the region”, an EU official said.

The countries of the Western Balkan region, some for political reasons and some for practical reasons such as the stimulus of tourism, enable them to come to their territory without visas to the citizens of some countries for which the EU applies the visa regime.

The European Commission during 2023 had proposed a series of changes to better preserve EU external borders and more efficient management of illegal immigration. In this package of changes, among other things, the EC had proposed strengthening the visa liberalisation mechanism for countries whose citizens can go to the EU without visas, and facilitating that possibility.

The suspension mechanisms of visa liberalisation exist under the regulation of 2018, but the process is quite complicated and makes it very difficult to suspension.

For example, the Netherlands had launched a procedure for suspension of visa liberalisation for Albania, but Holland's reasoning, The EC had seen it as unfounded.

With the new EC proposal, visa liberalisation could be suspended for a state, even because of the visa regime's incompatible with the bloc's visa regime in terms of third states.

According to current mechanisms for visa suspension, this process can only be launched on specific occasions, such as whether there is immediate and significant increase in the number of illegal immigrants or the risk for national security.

With the proposal the EC made earlier in the week, that the reason for the suspension of liberalisation be also “insufficient compliance with the EU visa regime, hybrid threats and the existence of granting citizenship for investment to citizens of third countries”.

Adapting to EU visa policy has become a priority for member states because it is estimated it will reduce the possibility of the Western Balkan region becoming a transitor point for illegal immigrants heading towards the EU.

EU sources have particularly mentioned Serbia several times, which had lifted visas for visits to Serbia to citizens of countries like Cuba, Tunisia, Burundi, Russia, China and several other countries. This had influenced a number of citizens of these countries to go to Serbia without visas, later to cross to the EU. Only after the European bloc's insistence had Serbia begun to adapt its visa regime to that of Brussels.

The EU's visa regime requirement has been applied to other Western Balkan states.

Even in the EC's latest report on monitoring the Mechanisms for the suspension of visa liberalisation for Western Balkan states, which was released last October, it said all these states should do more in adopting the EU visa regime.

The report concludes that all states should take further steps to adapt to EU visa policy and continue their efforts to prevent baseless asylum applications. Additional efforts must also be made to prevent illegal immigration, as well as the fight against organised crime and corruption”, the EC report said.

Now, even Kosovo is required this year to make progress in establishing visas for citizens of several countries for which the bloc requires visas, especially those that pose risks for mass migration towards the EU.

In the criteria the EU will carefully observe in Kosovo's case, there is also respect for visa-free travel rules by Kosovo citizens, but for the assessment it will take time to look at the trains. However, if there is massive misuse of liberalisation, then this could be taken as an element member states can use to initiate the suspension of visa liberalisation.

So far, mostly misuse of visa liberalisation, there have been citizens of Albania, respectively. / REL/