For or against? The EU Commission gives the decision on the lifting of visas for Kosovo

The Commission for Civil Liberties, Justice and Internal Affairs (LIBE) has voted in favor of visa liberalization for Kosovo. 47 MEPs voted for it and 8 against.

LIBE had voted in favor of visa liberalization for Kosovo on January 12 of this year as well.

"The Council has recently approved the visa liberalization agreement and because it is a second reading agreement (Parliament's position was approved in 2019 before the previous elections), we need to vote again in LIBE for to approve the position of the Council", he said.

The European Parliament will also vote on the liberalization of visas. According to a draft agenda, the vote in the EP will take place on April 18.

According to the decision of the EU institutions, the removal of visas for Kosovo would be implemented from the date when the European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS) would enter into force in November of this year. However, this chance has been lost since the operationalization of ETIAS has been postponed to 2024. However, Kosovars will be able to travel freely from January 1, 2024.

The last approval of the Council of Ministers on this matter was considered an important decision by the Dutch MEP, Thijs Reuten, who was also appointed rapporteur for visas.