Fifteen organizations of the civil society of the Serbian community in Kosovo have opposed the calls from the civil society in Kosovo, that the European Commission withdraw a proposal which requires that the citizens of Kosovo who have passports of Serbia, be stripped of their visas.
Earlier on November 21, the Government of Kosovo, as well as over 20 non-governmental organizations in Kosovo, requested that the European Commission reconsider this proposal, as Kosovo expects visa liberalization to begin on January 1, 2023.
Through a letter sent to the European Commissioner for Internal Affairs, Ylva Johansson, over 20 civil society organizations in Kosovo said that this EC proposal will “seriously challenge the progress in the integration of Kosovo Serb citizens” through the provision of Kosovo documents. and “will encourage and encourage the criminal structures operating in the northern part of Kosovo to continue with threats and intimidation of the Serbian citizens of Kosovo who intend to integrate into the social and political life of the country”.
But, Serbian non-governmental organizations said that the arguments that the lifting of the visa regime for Kosovo Serb citizens, who have Serbian passports, hinders their integration in Kosovo, “do not hold and are insulting”.
“No more Kosovo Serbs will be integrated if they are provided with Kosovo passports than the number of those who already have Kosovo citizenship. This follows from the fact that a passport cannot be obtained without an identity card and proof of citizenship.
In other words, a person who receives a new passport already has citizenship and thus is already integrated,” said the reaction of 15 Serbian non-governmental organizations.
Serbian NGOs said that the Albanian non-governmental organizations – which have addressed the EU on this issue – are exactly the ones who have raised their voices for years against the unjust isolation of Kosovo’s citizens “and now they are basically asking for the same thing: isolation of a very small number of people”.
What has the European Commission proposed?
In mid-November, taking into account the liberalization of visas for citizens of Kosovo, the European Commission proposed that visas be removed for passport holders of the Republic of Serbia, who reside in the territory of Kosovo.
In order to include the holders of passports issued by a special office in Belgrade (coordinating office), the Commission has proposed changing the decision on the liberalization of visas for Serbia.
Serbs from Kosovo have the right to the passport of Serbia, which received visa liberalization in 2009.
However, at the request of the EU, it was necessary to form a Coordinating Administration for the issuance of passports for those who have an address in Kosovo.
In April of this year, the EC emphasized that the visa liberalization approved for Kosovo applies only to holders of Kosovo passports and not to those citizens who have passports of the Coordinating Administration, which works within the Ministry of Internal Affairs. of Serbia.
At that time it was assessed that there is a risk of mass migration, as well as some security issues.
In its proposal, the European Commission has argued that there are no longer any reasons for which it was decided that holders of passports of the Republic of Serbia with residence in Kosovo will not be able to travel without visas, unlike citizens of Serbia with residence In Serbia.
What has the Government of Kosovo said?
On November 21, the Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo, Besnik Bislimi, said that he has addressed the EU, asking it to reconsider the proposal regarding the issue of lifting visas for citizens of Kosovo who have Serbian passports.
“Illegal passports issued by the Coordination Center of Serbia consider municipalities within Kosovo to be part of Serbia’s jurisdiction, this is a violation of our sovereignty and unacceptable,” said Bislimi.
He said that the Government of Kosovo is already applying an accelerated procedure for equipping all Serbs in Kosovo with passports. According to Bislim, citizens’ interest in passport equipment has recently increased and “compared to last year, we have an increase of 29 percent”.
From January 1, 2024, citizens of Kosovo are expected to travel without visas to 27 EU countries, which make up the so-called Schengen area.
After the liberalization of visas for holders of biometric passports of the Republic of Kosovo comes into force, holders of Serbian passports residing in Kosovo, if the EC proposal is not implemented, would remain the only ones without the possibility of visa-free movement.
