The European Parliament approved visa liberalization with Kosovo from January 1 next year.
This is stated in the message of the European Parliament.
The decision was made without a vote.
Citizens of Kosovo will be allowed to travel to the EU – and EU citizens to Kosovo – visa-free for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. Once the law enters into force, the entire Western Balkans region will have a travel regime similar to the Schengen area.
"After years of waiting, Kosovo has become the latest country in the Western Balkans region to join our visa-free regime. This finally makes it possible for Kosovans to easily travel, visit relatives and do business in the EU. But more than that, this milestone is also an important foundation . for the future and ever closer cooperation between the EU and Kosovo," said the rapporteur of the European Parliament Theiss Reuten.
On Wednesday, April 19, the relevant act will be signed in Strasbourg by the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, and Sweden, which chairs the EU Council.
Kosovo is a potential candidate for EU membership and unilaterally declared its independence in February 2008. Currently, its independence is not recognized by five EU member states (Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Slovakia and Spain). It should be noted that precisely because of the opposition of Spain, which will preside over the EU Council in the second half of 2023, visa-free travel with Kosovo will not come into effect earlier. Madrid did not want this event to happen during the Spanish presidency.
The European Parliament has supported visa liberalization with Kosovo since 2016, after the European Commission declared that Kosovo met the criteria of the visa liberalization roadmap. Currently, Kosovo remains the only part of the Western Balkans region that does not have a visa-free regime for short-term travel with Schengen countries.
We will remind you that the Council of the EU adopted a decision that provides the right for holders of Kosovar passports to visa-free travel to the European Union on March 9.