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Some diplomats from European Union countries continue to say that their countries are making efforts since the EU Summit, which will take place on June 23 and 24 in Brussels, to express clear political support for visa liberalization for Kosovo.
This would then serve as a starting point for the procedure, which would be initiated in the Council working groups, where decisions would also be taken.
The European Commission since 2018 has confirmed that Kosovo has met all the criteria and has recommended the abolition of visas.
The Commission has repeated this position in the spring of this year.
Meanwhile, the European Parliament has supported and given its consent to visa liberalization for the citizens of Kosovo.
The support of the European Parliament was repeated on Wednesday by the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, after the meeting she had with the President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani.
Metsola wrote on Twitter that “visa liberalization must happen without delay.”
But the issue has always remained stuck in the Council of the EU.
Now that the issue has been raised to the highest political level and visa liberalization has been publicly supported by some member states, the likelihood that proceedings will be initiated has increased.
Visa liberalization for Kosovo was not intended to be formally on the agenda, but the possibility of expressing political support was mentioned.
A senior EU official who spoke to reporters about the preparations for the summit said that “the possibility that one of the leaders may raise this issue at the European Council meeting is not ruled out”, but added that “there are no clear indications according to which can be said that the abolition of the visa regime will occur.
Asked if countries like France and the Netherlands had given up their opposition, he said “France and the Netherlands should be asked about this.”
Diplomatic sources continue to say that, whether or not it will be formally mentioned in an EU statement, the issue of liberalization may be unblocked and the process initiated in the relevant EU working groups.
But, this is a procedure that takes time and one cannot prejudge the timing of when it could happen.
The European Union summit will reiterate the EU’s commitment to the membership prospects for the Western Balkan countries, while granting candidate status to the two countries, Ukraine and Moldova.
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