At a recent meeting of the working group on visa liberalization, EU member states have aligned their positions on a compromise, according to which the decision on the liberalization of visas for Kosovo would be approved, and enter into effect on November 1, 2023, when the implementation of the European travel information and authorization system (ETIAS) is also set to begin.

As Radio Free Europe has learned from diplomatic sources, this was the compromise between France’s request for the entry into force of visa liberalization to be conditioned upon the start of the implementation of ETIAS, and the opposition of many other countries that this should not be connected.

In the end, ETIAS is also mentioned, as well as the date. This digital system aims to record visitors who enter from outside the EU into the free movement zone, Schengen. It was supposed to start operating in 2022, but the date has been postponed several times and now the deadline is set for November 2023.