The Kosovars will still have to wait. In Pristina, the European Commissioner for Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, said on Monday 3 December that 2020 was a "realistic" date for visa liberalisation for Kosovo's citizens.
The Commission acknowledged that the 95 criteria requested had been met by Pristina (see EUROPE 12065) and that the European Parliament supported this liberalisation (see EUROPE 12095), but the EU Council has yet to express its view on the subject. According to Mr Hahn, Member States have already started to look at this proposal.
The decision might still have to wait, however, with the upcoming European elections. The Commissioner asked the Kosovars for a few months, "in order to obtain the agreement of the 27 Member States". Mr Hahn recalled that the decision for the last countries to benefit from such liberalisation - Ukraine and Georgia - had taken a year and a half.
On Tuesday 4 December, in Brussels, Kosovo's Minister for European Integration, Dhurata Hoxha, said that this liberalisation was "one of the most urgent issues" for her country’s population. Recalling that Kosovo was the last country in the region not to benefit from this liberalisation, Ms Hoxha explained that such a situation was "unbearable”. She therefore called on the EU to play its full role and take action: Kosovo meets the criteria, it must have visa liberalisation, she summarised.
In addition, on 4 December, 21 MEPs from the S&D, EPP, ALDE, GUE/NGL, Greens/EFA groups from 11 Member States, in a letter to the President of the European Council and the Permanent Representative of Austria, whose country holds the Presidency of the EU Council, called on the Council to plan a vote on this subject and to adopt the visa-free regime "without further delay".
Removing tariff barriers
In Pristina, the Commissioner also referred to the recent imposition of taxes on Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, saying that everyone had been "surprised and, in a way, disappointed". He proposed the creation of a "special forum" to discuss trade-related issues. Mr Hahn called on the parties to reflect on this proposal, explaining that it was in everyone's interest to find a solution "as soon as possible" claiming that these taxes should not remain in place. The Commissioner expressed his willingness to help find a solution and appropriate responses.
From Brussels, the Kosovar minister justified the measures taken by her country. According to Ms Hoxha, her country was treated unfairly by Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, which used non-tariff barriers against Pristina. "These are desperate measures, a call from Kosovo to really balance the playing field," she explained regarding the Kosovar countermeasures. The minister added that her country had highlighted this problem many times, but that nothing had been done.
The Commissioner recalled that the European perspective meant a single market and no customs duties. According to Mr Hahn, resolving trade relation issues would have a positive effect on the dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo on the normalisation of their relations. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)