The Interior Ministers of the 27 countries of the European Union approved today the decision to liberalize visas for Kosovo at the meeting of the Council of Internal Affairs in Brussels. The ministers approved this decision “in the first reading”, without discussion, as the permanent representatives of the member countries had agreed on this earlier in the ambassadors’ meeting.

According to this decision, the starting date of visa liberalization for Kosovo citizens will be the time when the travel authorization and verification system (ETIAS) is fully operational, or no later than January 1, 2024.

Until recently, it was believed that the entry into force of this system will be on November 1 of this year, but this deadline has been postponed to 2024.

The entry into force of this system next year has been set as a new date on the official website of the ETIAS system. When this system comes into force, those who want to visit EU countries without a visa must first register through it, and then receive an authorization which is valid for three years.

For this, citizens will have to pay 7 euros, but those aged under 18 and over 70 can do it for free. Diplomats in the EU say that, currently, everything in the visa liberalization process for Kosovo is going according to plan, and that the deadline for entry into force remains January 1 next year.

Sources in the EU claim that they no longer see any obstacles in this process, which is expected to be formally finalized by the end of Sweden’s EU presidency, which ends on June 31. The decision, they say, will be ready to go into effect on January 1, 2024, if not earlier.

/k.s/