The rapporteur for the lifting of visas for holders of Serbian passports in Kosovo is appointed

2024-03-06 14:37:41, Kosova & Bota CNA

The rapporteur for the lifting of visas for holders of Serbian passports in

The European representative, Matjazh Nemec, was appointed rapporteur for the lifting of visas for citizens of Kosovo who are holders of passports from Serbia.

He confirmed the appointment through social networks and said that he expects a quick decision on the cancellation of visas for Kosovo Serbs, who have passports issued by the Serbian authorities.

Citizens of Kosovo who possess passports of the Republic of Kosovo enjoy the visa-free regime since January 1 of this year.

However, from this decision those citizens who possess passports issued by the Coordinating Authority, which functions within the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Serbia, were excluded. They were also excluded when visas for citizens of Serbia were abolished in December 2009.

With the decision to cancel visas for Kosovo, citizens who only have Serbian passports remain the only ones in the Western Balkans who do not enjoy a visa-free regime with European countries.

In November 2023, the European Commission proposed the start of procedures for the inclusion of citizens of Kosovo with passports from Serbia in visa liberalization.

The Government of Kosovo spoke against it, saying that it is concerned about such a proposal without prior consultation or notification.

Official Pristina does not recognize the Serbian passports of the Coordinating Authority, because it considers them to be issued by an illegal institution.

"The recognition of these documents undermines the integration of the Serbian community, harms our long-term efforts [for the integration of Serbs]", wrote the Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo, Besnik Bislimi, on "Facebook", on November 21.

He also said that members of the Serbian community with Kosovo passports will be able to move freely in the area of ??European states, known as Schengen.

The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union take the decision on whether or not to waive visas.
The European Parliament ends its work in April, as the institution enters the pre-election campaign for the European elections to be held in June.

It remains unclear whether there will be enough time to comply with all the procedures for the decision to be taken during the current mandate of the European Parliament./ REL