Following the ratification of the Stabilization/Association Agreement with the European Union, First Deputy Prime Minister Hashim Thaci told reporters in the Assembly hall that Kosovo will now assume new obligations and responsibilities. “These responsibilities will be directly linked to the implementation of certain criteria that are required to move forward with reforms in the legislation and the economy. The ratification [of the SAA] paves way to economic development, but first and foremost it enables the further consolidation of our country, our international subjectivity, and Kosovo’s future membership of INTERPOL,” he said. Thaci added that Kosovo will get visa liberalization in 2016. “Kosovo has met all criteria and now a political decision is due from the European Union. I am seeing readiness in Brussels to recommend visa liberalization for Kosovo in the near future. By the end of 2016, the citizens of Kosovo will be able to move freely like all other Europeans,” he added.