Representatives of the EU member states agreed with the proposal to liberalize the visa regime for citizens of Kosovo from January 1, 2024.
This was reported by Euractiv.
The corresponding decision was made during a meeting of visa advisers on Tuesday in Brussels. The January 1, 2024 date was proposed by Spain, one of five countries that does not recognize Kosovo's independence from Serbia, which was declared in 2008 after the 1998-1999 Kosovo-Serbia war.
France initially proposed to link the liberalization of the visa regime with the functioning of the ETIAS system, which Spain insisted on.
The Czech Republic, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Council, has pushed for a decision on visa liberalization during its six-month presidency. Kosovo has met the requirements for visa liberalization since at least 2018, but it has repeatedly faced obstacles and delays in the decision for various reasons.
During a meeting last week, Spain, Slovakia and Sweden asked for further clarification on the proposal.
The approved proposal was prepared by the Czech Presidency last week, and it states that liberalization should be tied to the functioning of the ETIAS system.
The European Commission has reportedly delayed the launch of the ETIAS system, which requires travelers from visa-free countries to pay a €7 fee every three years to authorize their travel.
Back in 2016, the European Union adopted a principled decision to change the procedure for crossing the border of citizens of those countries that have the right to enter the EU without a visa. In 2018, the European Parliament approved the legislation establishing the parameters of the new system, which was named ETIAS.
The new scheme provides that after the launch and after the transition period, entry from visa-free countries to the EU with a biometric passport will be possible in case of prior registration (authorization) in the new system.