2024-01-03 12:06:08
MONDE – Kosovar nationals can now travel to the Schengen area without a passport or visa. A European Union (EU) exemption regime, allowing them to travel within the continent’s borderless zone, came into force on January 1, 2024. Pristina is the last of six Western Balkan countries to benefit from a such a measure, delayed by several countries, including France, fearing new waves of migration. This former province of Serbia sees it as an important step towards its recognition. “This day is important. A great injustice has been removed and a great right has been won”, said Prime Minister Albin Kurti. The regime comes into force in a period of high tensions between Kosovo and Serbia, whose normalization of relations is still far away, despite the efforts of the EU.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, but Belgrade does not recognize it, nor do Russia or Spain. This is not the case for a hundred other countries, including 22 of the 27 members of the EU. Relations between the two neighbors have since continued to deteriorate.
An impossible recognition?
In 2013, the two states agreed to dialogue, under the aegis of the EU, to normalize their diplomatic relations. A text stipulated that Serbia should not oppose the accession of its former province to international organizations such as the European Union or NATO. Pristina, for its part, was ordered to guarantee an appropriate level of autonomy to the Serbian community, made up of some 120,000 people, out of the 1.8 million Kosovar inhabitants.
But tensions persisted, with Belgrade accusing Pristina of violating the rights of the Serb minority. In November 2022, a new level was reached when civil servants and elected officials resigned from Kosovar institutions, particularly in town halls in northern Kosovo. It was a protest against Kosovo’s decision to ban the minority from using Serbian-issued number plates. In response to this wave of resignations, Pristina organized elections on April 23, 2023 and the boycotted vote did not take place without incidents in the north.
Simultaneously, the two countries negotiated an agreement in Ohrid (city in Macedonia), still aiming to normalize their relations. The document provided, among other things, that the two parties “mutually recognize their respective national symbol documents” and undertake not to use violence to resolve their differences. Serbia must always undertake not to oppose Kosovo’s accession to international institutions and Pristina must offer an “appropriate level of self-management” to the Serbian minority.
After a accord verbal March 1, Belgrade has refused to sign the text in October. In the meantime, tension rose a notch after the arrest of three Kosovar police officers in military uniform and armed with automatic weapons, accused by Belgrade of constituting a “terrorist gang”. In retaliation, Kosovo banned vehicles registered in Serbia from entering its territory.
Fears of an exodus of Kosovars
Belgrade has taken a step towards de-escalation. Since Monday January 1, 2024, authorization has been given to all vehicles registered in Kosovo to circulate, without having to hide the words “RKS” (Republic of Kosovo) with a sticker. A purely practical measure and in no way constituting, underline the Serbs, a “recognition of the unilaterally declared independence of the so-called Kosovo”.
This recognition, Pristina perceives it in the entry into force of the EU visa waiver regime, on the same date of January 1, 2024. Nationals of the country can now travel to the borderless zone without being equipped with a visa or even a passport. Kosovo already met all the necessary criteria to join this regime, but countries such as France and the Netherlands have delayed its entry into force, fearing new waves of migration. Five other EU member countries, which do not recognize the independence of the former Serbian province, namely Spain, Slovakia, Romania, Greece and Cyprus, have also delayed EU approval .
Prime Minister Albin Kurti welcomed a “important day”. “A great injustice has been removed and a great right has been won”he added, addressing the first Kosovo residents who won a trip from Pristina airport to the EU.
The Kosovar government has carried out an awareness campaign in recent months to encourage people not to abuse the freedom to travel by seeking employment in the EU. Entry into force of the exemption regime worry moreover the country’s employers, who fear an exodus of employees.
In December 2022, Pristina submitted its official application for EU membership. But the European Commission insisted: “The normalization of relations [avec la Serbie] is an essential condition on the European path”. Albin Kurti’s European and American allies rightly criticize him for his attempts to regain control of the Serbian areas in the north of the country, accusing him of “provocation” and “inflexibility”.
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