PRISTINA (Kosovo), September 13 (SeeNews) – The European Parliament confirmed on Thursday the mandate for negotiations with the Council on the proposal to waive visa requirements for Kosovo’s citizens, it said.
The members of the European Parliament backed with 420 votes to 186 and 22 abstentions the decision by the Civil Liberties Committee to start discussions with the ministers on this legislative change, the parliament said in a statement.
“The proposal to grant visa-free access to the EU to the people of Kosovo was already endorsed by the Civil Liberties Committee MEPs in September 2016, pending the fulfilment of all the benchmarks required, in particular the ratification of the border agreement with Montenegro,” the statement reads.
The ratification of the border deal with Montenegro was one of the 95 criteria established in the visa liberalisation dialogue with the EU, launched in 2012.
Last month, the European Commission confirmed Kosovo has met all the requirements, which also included a clean track record in the fight against organised crime and corruption.
Kosovo's parliament approved the border demarcation agreement with Montenegro on March 21, 2018.
“The negotiations with the Council could start once the ministers set their general approach on the proposal for the visa waiver,” the European Parliament said, adding that if agreed by the co-legislators, Kosovo citizens will be able to enter the EU without a visa for 90 days in any 180-day period - provided they hold a biometric passport - for business, tourism or family purposes.
“The lifting of visa requirements for Kosovars would apply to all EU countries, except the United Kingdom and Ireland, and to the four non-EU Schengen states (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland).”
Kosovo, considered to be a potential candidate for EU membership by the European Commission, unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in 2008. It is the only country in the Western Balkans whose citizens need visas to travel to EU member states.