The Czech EU Council has withdrawn the proposal of visa liberalisation for Kosovo citizens due to current political tensions with Serbia over license plates, just hours before a deal was struck between Pristina and Belgrade.
The move comes after EU-led negotiations between Serbia and Kosovo over the refusal of ethnic Serbs in Kosovo to adhere to a new law that would require them to use plates issued by Kosovo, not Yugoslavia, had failed.
The visa liberalisation proposal was previously on the agenda for Wednesday’s meeting between EU ambassadors but was withdrawn at the last minute, RFE/RL reported. It comes one day after member state representatives agreed to allow visa liberalisation by the start of 2024.
EU agrees to liberalise Kosovo visas by 2024
In a letter sent to the EU member states, the Czech presidency announced that the topic will be postponed for the next meeting on 30 November.
“Because of the political developments in northern Kosovo, it would not be ideal to leave this item on the agenda,” the Czech presidency wrote in the letter seen by RFE/RL.
However, the decision appears somewhat premature as an agreement was reached between Serbia and Kosovo on Wednesday evening. According to Wednesday’s deal, “Serbia will stop issuing licence plates with Kosovo cities’ denominations, and Kosovo will cease further actions related to re-registration of vehicles,” the EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell said.
Even without the latest developments, the Czech Presidency’s decision will likely not impact the situation too much as they still hope liberalisation would take place before 1 January 2024, the same terms as in the agreement from this week.
Kosovo has met all requirements for visa liberalisation as of 2018 but has faced numerous obstacles since. The recent being Spain, France, and several other countries insisting that liberalisation is tied to the functioning of the EITAS system, which is currently not operational. The system digitally processes data on those entering the European Union.
Kosovo is the last country in the Western Balkans with which the EU still has visa requirements. Liberalisation was one of the priorities of the Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský (Pirates, Greens/EFA).
(Aneta Zachová | EURACTIV.cz, Alice Taylor | Exit.al)
Source: euractiv.com
