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The most unwanted passport in Europe, why don't Kosovo liberalize visas?

2022-08-03 20:43:22Fokus SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

The most unwanted passport in Europe, why don't Kosovo liberalize visas?

At a time when most people in Europe and the Western Balkans can simply pack their suitcase, buy a ticket and get a passport to go to the chosen summer holiday destination, Kosovo citizens do not have that privilege.

Nearly two million people living in Europe's newest state must endure the exhausting, time-consuming and expensive process of applying for a visa in the EU and the Schengen area.

Despite promises from Brussels, Kosovo remains the only country in mainland Europe besides Russia and Belarus outside the EU visa-free regime, which allows citizens of countries outside the bloc to enter the Schengen area for 90 days in a six-month period.


This is not just about holidays – Kosovars who wish to study, or receive medical care in Western Europe can quickly discover that the requirements for specific visas they must have are beyond their means.

The exhausting process

On a hill above Pristina, a crowd gathered in front of an agency tasked with accepting applications for the embassies of Switzerland and the United Kingdom, facing the noon sun amid a hot wave.

By last reviewing their documents to make sure everything was okay before handing them over to uniformed employees, some were clearly nervous about the outcome of their applications.

The others who stood in line by the strong heat were vocal in their anger.


"The fact that everyone else in Europe can just wake up and buy a ticket everywhere without thinking twice about visas is extremely unfair," Skalzen Starabaya, 28, who is setting up a small business in Kosovo after working for the U.S. army in Iraq and the Us army-led Bondsteel camp near The Oblast, tells Euronews.

"It is unfair and has become a very politicized issue and there is no hope that we will make any progress in this direction."

"Here are all kinds of prejudices at stake, and while Kosovo has many international supporters, there are many people who have the wrong idea of what Kosovo and its people stand for," Starabaya said.

Visa-free travel, still a dream

Kosovo visa problems are as old as the country itself.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia nearly a decade after the 1998-1999 conflict that led to a NATO intervention against Slobodan Milosevic's Belgrade regime.

The Kumanovo agreement secured the withdrawal of Belgrade-controlled forces and allowed the UN to create a civilian mission with NATO offering security, making Kosovo the only UN protectorate in Europe.

Since then, the U.N.-led international community, the U.S. and the European Union have invested an unprecedented amount of funding and efforts to ensure that the country quickly becomes a full democracy.

In 2007, Brussels established its largest civilian mission in a non-member state, the EU Mission for the Rule of Law or EULEX, to assist the local judiciary and offer support to the police force.

However, since the 2008 Declaration of Independence, Serbia has been actively trying to prevent Kosovo from becoming a full member of international organisations such as the UN and Interpol.

In addition, Serbia has led an international campaign of recognition in an attempt to deny Kosovo its status, with the visa liberalisation regime also affected by the dispute.

All other countries in the region have successfully negotiated the visa liberalisation regime between 2009 and 2010.

"However, for Kosovo, the right to travel to the EU and the Schengen area remained a carrot that Brussels continues to wave before the nose of the Pristina government, civil society analyst Donika Emini told Euronea.

"The visa issue is a source of tremendous frustration," Emini said.

"Look at the countries of the region – all of them perform the same as Kosovo in terms of rule of law and other parameters. However, their citizens have forgotten what it's like to apply for a visa.

The country has been promised the coveted privilege several times since 2008 – mostly in 2014, following the resolution of a border dispute with Montenegro.

Earlier in June, the EU Council was said to be considering removing the barrier as Western countries tried to increase their influence in the region, fearing Russia could exploit the vacuum amid its war in Ukraine.

Megjithatë, liberalizimi i vizave – i dhënë vendeve më të reja kandidate, Moldavisë dhe Ukrainës, respektivisht në vitin 2014 dhe 2017 – mbeti edhe një herë një ëndërr për kosovarët.

“Edhe unë duhet të aplikoj për viza rregullisht, si dikush që ka një rezidencë në MB, që ka jetuar në BE për më shumë se pesë vjet si në Gjermani ashtu edhe në Francë – dhe sa herë që ndjej frikën se mos më refuzojnë,” shpjegoi Emini.

“Është bërë një çështje kaq e madhe në Kosovë, saqë njerëzit në mënyrë aktive kanë frikë se nuk do t'u jepet e drejta e lirisë së lëvizjes”, shton ajo.


Në përputhje me standarded JTI

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