The Embassy of France in Kosovo has clarified for SchengenVisaInfo.com France’s President, Emmanuel Macron, comments made two days ago regarding Kosovo’s visa liberalisation process, which indicated that such process could be suspended on behalf of France.
In response to SchengenVisaInfo.com, the Embassy has said that Macron wanted to transmit a political message to Kosovo and Serbia, and hence, he is expecting that “authorities in Kosovo as well as those in Serbia keep their promises and recommit to making progress in the coming weeks” in terms of the EU-facilitated dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade that aims to achieve a normalisation agreement.
According to the Embassy, President Macron called upon the sense of responsibility of Serbian President Vucic and had the exact expectations for the President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani and Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, amid the recent tensions between both countries.
In this context, he discussed the question of visa liberalisation, which was a gesture of trust but had not been reciprocated at this stage. He, therefore, expected the Kosovar authorities, as well as the Serbian authorities, to honour their promises and recommit to making progress in the coming weeks.
Macron’s comments made in a press conference held in Albania’s capital on Tuesday indicated that the visa liberalisation for Kosovars could be suspended by France after the promises made by Kosovo have not been kept, thus sparking controversies.
The fact that such statements have been misinterpreted has also been confirmed by the ambassador of France in Kosovo, Olivier Gero.
He told Kosovo’s public service broadcaster RTK that there is no decision on the suspension of visas for Kosovo by France and that visa liberalisation will become effective from January 1, 2024.
Today, on October 18, nothing has been decided to prevent visa liberalisation on January 1. There is no technical decision to question the liberalisation of visas for Kosovo.
Sources from Brussels told Radio Free Europe that the suspension of visas is only possible through procedures in the EU Council, using the regulation on the visa suspension mechanism from 2018.
Diplomatic sources within the EU clarified that it is not possible for a country to suspend visa liberalisation for another country, and this can only be done through a regulation from the Council of the EU.
Kosovo’s President, Vjosa Osmani, also said that French institutions informed her that the visa liberalisation process for Kosovars had not been put on hold.
Kosovo-Serbia Relations Over License Plates & Border Incidents
Kosovo-Serbia relations became more tense when the Government of Kosovo, led by Prime Minister Albin Kurti, decided to replace what it called illegal Serbian license plates issued after December 2022 with the official RKS plates as a measure of reciprocity. Since then, the northern region of Kosovo has been under tension.
On September 24, a terrorist group attacked the Kosovo Police near the village of Banjska in North Kosovo, causing the death of one police officer. During the terrorist attack, three attackers also lost their lives.
The Embassy of France in Kosovo told SchengenVisaInfo.com that in the press conference held on Tuesday in Tirana, the French President clearly stated his expectations related to the President of Serbia, Vucic, to strongly condemn the acts of September 24, and contribute to restoring calm at the border.
We wish for a full investigation into the September 24th attack and for those responsible to be brought to justice.
This is not the first time that Macron’s comments have triggered debates. On August 28, France’s President warned that his country would review the commitments it has made on economic and political issues of visas for Kosovo and Serbia if they do not behave responsibly, according to a report from the European Western Balkans.
France and Germany have made their promises on visa policies and other economic issues, which will be reviewed if both parties do not behave responsibly. We must be very careful in this regard, especially when the stability of the Western Balkans is at risk.
The Rapporteur for Kosovo in the European Parliament, Viola von Cramon, responded to such statements, stressing that visa-free travel for Kosovo is not and should not be linked to the dialogue with Serbia.
Von Cramon said that Kosovo’s citizens deserve the long overdue visa liberalisation.
Back then, the President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, highlighted that any suspension of visa-free travel to the EU for citizens of Kosovo would kill the dialogue with Serbia once and for all.
When it comes to this issue, Berlin’s position remains unchanged, as it was previously confirmed by the German Federal Government following Macron’s comments.
Furthermore, earlier this month, through a statement, the German Embassy in Kosovo confirmed that citizens of Kosovo will be able to travel without visas for short-term stays to the Schengen Area starting from January 1, 2024.
An informative campaign on the rules of visa-free travel to the borderless area of Schengen was officially launched recently by the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, which, as he explained, will prepare Kosovars for what’s on the horizon.
The European Union adopted visa-free travel for Kosovo’s citizens in April this year, stressing that they would be able to travel without visas starting from January 1, 2024, at the latest.
Kosovo was the last Western Balkan country not to have such an agreement with the EU. For more than ten years, Kosovars have been waiting to travel visa-free to the EU; however, the process has not been finalised yet, in spite of the fact that the European Commission estimated that the country met all the needed conditions in 2018.
