European Parliament approves visa freedom for Kosovo

BRUSSELS, The European Parliament has voted Tuesday to endorse visa-free travel for holders of Serbian passports issued by the Serbian Coordination Directorate. EU Parliament voted with 406 votes in favour, 97 against, and 94 abstentions to support visa-free travel to the EU of up to 90 days for holders of Serbian passports issued by the Serbian Coordination Directorate ("Koordinaciona uprava"), which issues passports to Kosovo Serbs. This ensures that the entire Western Balkans region has the same visa regime on travel to the EU. Rapporteur Matjaz Nemec said, "extending EU visa liberalization to Serbian residents of Kosovo is important to prevent discrimination against these citizens, who remain the only category of residents of the Western Balkans who still require a visa to travel to the Schengen area. This technical decision is not an attempt to resolve the dispute between Serbia and Kosovo, but a pragmatic solution to ensure equal treatment. Now that the proposal has been adopted by Parliament, I hop e that the law can be quickly finalized before the EU elections of 6-9 June." As the Parliament adopted the commission proposal without amendments, it can enter into law once also adopted by the Council. It will enter into force on the twentieth day after its publication in the EU's Official Journal. Source: Kuwait News Agency