EU visa-free travel for Kosovo enters into force

On Monday, the much awaited visa liberalisation programme of the European Union went into effect, enabling Kosovo citizens to enter the European borderless area without a visa.

The new policy took effect at Sunday midnight (2300 GMT) and allows Kosovars to enter the Schengen area without a passport for stays of up to 90 days within a 180-day period.

Of the six Western Balkan countries, Kosovo, home to 1.8 million people, was the last to receive the waiver.

The reform is seen in Pristina as a step closer to full recognition and as a means of advancing the nation’s aspirations to become a member of the European Union, having declared its independence in 2008.

According to the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, Kosovo by 2018 met all the needed criteria for the visa-free regime, including border and migration management.

But the approval has been held up by France and the Netherlands, that were concerned about the possibility of new migration waves as well as by five other EU members — Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Slovakia and Spain.

The five do not recognise Kosovo’s independence from Serbia, neither does the latter.

Before the EU lifted the visa regime with Kosovo, its passport holders could travel without a visa only to 14 countries all over the world.

During the past few months, the government in Pristina has been conducting a public awareness campaign urging people not to misuse the freedom of travel by looking for jobs in the EU.

Later on Monday, Prime Minister Albin Kurti, who leads the campaign himself, is to address the first Kosovo residents who will travel from the Pristina airport to the EU without a visa.