PRISTINA (Kosovo), August 30 (SeeNews) – The European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) said on Thursday it adopted a decision to enter into negotiations with the EU Council on visa liberalisation for Kosovo citizens.
The proposal to lift visa requirements for Kosovo citizens now needs to be adopted by the Council, the LIBE committee said in a press release, following its first meeting after the summer break.
The committee backed visa liberalisation for Kosovo citizens by 30 votes in favor, ten against and two in abstention.
“The conditions to be met by Kosovo were set very high; significantly higher than for other Balkan countries and they have all been fulfilled as officially confirmed by the European Commission, including the fight against corruption and organised crime,” European Parliament rapporteur on visa liberalisation for Kosovo citizens, Tanja Fajon, said in a Twitter post.
The visa liberalisation dialogue with Kosovo was launched in 2012.
Kosovo, considered to be a potential candidate for EU membership by the European Commission, 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.