European Commission presented today its second report about the progress of Kosovo on fulfilling requirements for visa liberalization roadmap. The Commission considers that Kosovo has achieved progress, however further efforts are required to obtain visa free travel for its citizens.

The report assesses Kosovo’s progress in each block of the visa roadmap and makes a set of recommendations for the Government of Kosovo to fulfill the roadmap’s benchmarks.

''The Kosovo authorities have worked very hard and made progress in areas like readmission and passports security. They need to continue building on the results shown and to tackle the shortcomings identified in this report, in particular when it comes to visa information system, independence of the judiciary and fight against corruption. The European Commission stands ready to assist them in their efforts to make concrete progress on the ground,'' said Commissioner for Home Affairs, Cecilia Malmström.

Kosovo has taken important steps to implement its legislation in all areas of the visa roadmap: readmission now appears fully functional. The report recommends that Kosovo should enhance the sustainable reintegration of returnees; improve the accuracy of its civil status system; roll out its visa information system; develop the independence of the judiciary; and establish a credible track record of court rulings in organised crime and corruption cases.

The Commission has also assessed the potential security and migratory impacts of visa liberalisation and concluded that lifting the visa obligation for Kosovo citizens carried certain security and migratory risks for the EU. Since 2012, there has been a notable increase in human smuggling from Kosovo, and EASO’s 2014 annual report also noted a considerable increase in the number of asylum applications lodged in EU Member States by Kosovo citizens. The Commission recommends additional steps for Kosovo to mitigate the security and migratory risks of potential visa liberalisation.