EU Parliament Gives Final Green Light on Visa Liberalisation With Kosovo – Agreement to Be Signed Tomorrow

The European Parliament has approved the visa liberalization for Kosovo, permitting its citizens to finally travel to EU countries without being obliged to apply for a visa at first.

Through a statement, the European Parliament has announced that it endorsed the agreement on short-stay visa freedom with Kosovo, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

“Citizens of Kosovo will be allowed to travel to the EU –and EU citizens to go to Kosovo- without requesting a visa, for periods of up to 90 days in any 180-day period. After the law has entered into force, the entire Western Balkans region will have a similar visa framework for the Schengen area,” the statement reads.

While welcoming the decision, the President of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party, Ilhan Kyuchyuk, considered it a monumental step forward for EU integration.

“Today, the European Parliament makes history with a positive vote on visa liberalisation for Kosovo. This is a monumental step forward for EU integration, fostering unity and expanding opportunities for all,” he pointed out on Twitter.

Last month, European Parliament on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs endorsed the short-stay visa freedom agreement with Kosovo, thus permitting the final adoption of the legislation that will allow citizens of Kosovo to travel to European Union countries without being obliged to apply for a visa at first.

The European Parliament, through a statement, revealed that with 47 votes in favour, eight against and four abstaining, the European Parliament Committee expressed its support towards the agreement that allows visa-free travel for holders of Kosovo passports.

Last month, the Council of the European Union adopted its position at first reading related to visa-free travel for Kosovar citizens.

Kosovo has been attempting to permit its citizens to travel visa-free to EU countries for over ten years now.

Back on July 18, 2018, the European Commission considered that the Balkan country met all the needed conditions in order for this process to be finished, but up to this point, Kosovar citizens are eligible to travel without visas to just 15 countries, based on the VisaGuide.World Passport Index.

In October’s Working Group meeting held in Brussels, France proposed that Kosovo’s visa liberalisation process be connected with the operationalisation of the European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS).

The functionalisation of ETIAS was set to become effective on November 1, but it was again postponed by the middle of 2024.

But an EU Official confirmed for SchengenVisaInfo.com that the ETIAS Launch Date would not have any impact on the date when citizens of Kosovo would finally be eligible to travel without visas.

“Once the text is adopted by both the Council and the European Parliament, the exemption from the visa requirement will apply from the date on which ETIAS starts operations or from January 1, 2024, whichever date comes first,” the official confirmed for SchengenVisaInfo.com.