The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Isa Mustafa, said during today’s meeting of the government that Kosovo has fulfilled all the required criteria for visa liberalisation, except for the ratification of the draft-law on demarcation of the border with Montenegro.
Head of the European Union Office in Pristina, Nataliya Apostolova said firmly during a press conference today that combating of crime and corruption are conditions for liberalisation of visas.
She said that progress has been made on this direction, however, she also mentioned the condition of the demarcation of the border with Montenegro, saying that there will be no visas without conclusion of this issue.
The EU Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, during a meeting of the Foreign Commission of the European Parliament today said that Pristina has taken some important steps towards visa liberalisation. However, Hahn noted that there are two criteria which require more effort. According to him, the first one is to overcome the strong political tension and second, strengthening the rule of law and democracy.
President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, called today a meeting of the National Council for European Integration and said that special effort need to be made to finalise the visa liberalization process as quickly as possible. He said that the current situation regarding the inability of the people of Kosovo to travel freely to European countries is “unjustifiable”.
Prime Minister of Kosovo, Isa Mustafa, accused opposition parties of “needlessly” blocking the visa liberalization process. He also said that Kosovo faced the largest number of conditions but has nevertheless made effort to meet all of them. “We want to be treated equally. With regards to the border demarcation criteria, we came to a situation whereby the opposition has used it to block the process. Therefore this condition needs to be reassessed,” said Mustafa today at the meeting of the National Council for European Integration headed by President, Hashim Thaci.
Kosovo Assembly Presidency decided today that the next Assembly session will be held on Thursday. During the session, the MPs will discuss the draft-statement prepared by the parliamentary groups which calls on the European Union not to condition the visa liberalisation process for Kosovo.
The Kosovo Assembly’s foreign affairs committee will meet today at 15:00 to discuss the final version of the declaration on visa liberalisation for Kosovo that will be sent to the European Union. Pal Lekaj, head of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) parliamentary group, said this is a good opportunity to convince the EU that the demarcation with Montenegro should be concluded with political and peaceful means. “The process of demarcation should in no way ruin our good relations with Montenegro,” Lekaj said.
Several news websites report that Kosovo Assembly President, Kadri Veseli, said today in Pristina that it is meaningless for the European Union not to give visa liberalisation to Kosovo. Veseli made these remarks at a conference commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Hungarian Fight for Freedom and Revolution. The Hungarian Ambassador to Kosovo, Laszlo Markusz, said the Hungarian people and Kosovars have many things in common, such as the fight for freedom and independence.
The European Parliament Rapporteur for removal of visas for Kosovo, Tanja Fajon, told Radio Free Europe that she is aware of the initiative of the Assembly of Kosovo to endorse a declaration with regards to the liberalisation of visas for Kosovo.
Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) MP Shpejtim Bulliqi welcomed today the idea of a joint declaration by the Kosovo Assembly to Brussels on visa liberalisation for Kosovo. Bulliqi, who is the biggest opponent from the ruling coalition to the current border delineation agreement with Montenegro, said the initiative would unblock the process and create room for renegotiations on the border demarcation agreement.