“If the United States abolishes visas for Kosovo citizens, it is the love of the EU”

He visited that the EU has not given the so-called Kosovo visa liberalization.

Before the visit of the special envoy of the president of the United States, Riard Grenel, to Belgrade and Pristina, the Albanian press announces that he could bring the abolition of American visas for citizens of Kosovo as a kind of gift.

While there are no official announcements that this could actually happen, the possible motivation for such an unconventional move by the world’s greatest power is worth considering, as well as the practical implications, Starovi notes.

“Let us remember that in 2010, Haim Tai promised the citizens of Kosovo and Metohija that they could travel to EU countries without a visa within a maximum period of 15 months, and that the temporary institutions of self-government in Pristina complied with all elements of the long list of up to 95 applications for visa liberalization, “Starovi said.

According to him, it must be taken into account that the United States still requires visas for citizens of some EU countries such as Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria, and the inclusion of Kosovo in the “Visa Waiver” program would cover the formal criteria to maintain to these EU countries in the visa regime.

“One of the key conditions for visa abolition for a country is keeping the rate of rejected visa applications below three percent. That rate was a high 37 percent for applicants from Kosovo and Metohija last year, while that in Croatia it was only four percent, “Starovi said. .

He considers that another important aspect is that the visa regime refers mainly to a country / territory and not to the type of travel document.

This means that, in principle, the abolition of US visas for citizens of Kosovo and Metohija should include both holders of passports from the so-called Republic of Kosovo and holders of passports from the Republic of Serbia residing in Kosovo. and Metohija, which the United States recognizes as a valid travel document. It is a somewhat paradoxical situation that, for example, Serbs from Kosovska Mitrovica with a passport from the Republic of Serbia are not covered by the EU visa liberalization, but they can travel freely to the United States, ”says Starovi.

He notes that even if US visas for citizens of Kosovo and Metohija were abolished, official Belgrade should not see it as a goal to antagonize Serbia, because it is primarily a new episode of confrontation between transatlantic partners, “with modest practical implications”.

That is, there are a small number of Kosovo and Metohija Albanians who will have the needs and opportunities to stay in the United States, unlike the countries of the English region. Furthermore, the possible inclusion of Pristina in the visa suspension program could be an introduction to all Serbian citizens traveling to the United States without visas, as both Belgrade and Pristina have agreed to identical aviation security procedures under the Agreement on Washington, and that there is no reason why the benefits of such a move should not be symmetrical for both parties, “Starovi said.