prijava
SARAJEVO, October 4 (FENA) - Several hundred citizens of the Western Balkans have signed a petition demanding that the authorities in the region and the EU urgently abolish existing visa regimes and establish the freedom of movement for all Western Balkan citizens travelling within the region and throughout the Schengen Area.The petition was launched a few days before the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Brdo near Kranj on October 6.
Astrit Istrefi, executive director of the Balkan Forum, the regional organization that launched the petition, says it is high time the EU fulfilled its promises and approved visa liberalization for Kosovo by the end of this year at the latest.
“In July 2018, the European Commission confirmed that Kosovo had met all the preconditions for the introduction of visa liberalization. More than three years later, Kosovo citizens are the only ones in the region who need a visa to travel to the EU. By not fulfilling the promises given to Kosovo, the European Union is not only undermining its credibility in this country, but in the entire region,” Istrefi emphasizes.
The representative of that organization, Samir Beharić, explains that the current obstacles to freedom of movement through the region and Schengen Area separate families, damage regional cooperation and hinder the mobility of young people and students.
“In our petition, we demand from decision makers in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Serbia to remove all existing barriers to freedom of movement between these three countries. The rigid visa regime, which is still in force between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, requires residents of the two countries not to visit their families, study or visit another country without a visa. The upcoming EU-Western Balkans Summit is a great opportunity for the leaders of the Western Balkans to sign a regional travel agreement with an ID card, thus ensuring freedom of movement within the region,” he said.
The petition is a continuation of a request to establish freedom of movement, signed by 78 prominent individuals and organizations from the region and the EU, including Goran Svilanović, Hannes Swoboda, Erhard Busek, Ulrika Lunachek, Florian Bieber and others.
The signatures of this petition will be forwarded to the leaders of the European Commission, the EU Council, the European Parliament, as well as the leaders of the Western Balkan countries, the 'Balkan Forum' announced.
(FENA) A. B.
