Citizens of the Western Balkans will only need an identity card to move to Albania. The news was announced by the Minister of the Interior, Bledi Çuçi, after the meeting of the Council of Ministers. This decision comes after the agreement of the countries of the Western Balkans in the Berlin Process, where all citizens will be able to move freely in Albania only with the ID.

“Free movement of citizens in the Balkans only with an identity document. The Albanian government approves it. With the entry into force, all WB citizens can move freely in Albania only with an identity card”, said minister Çuçi. Furthermore, Çuçi emphasized that there will be a task force in cooperation with the order of North Macedonia. This decision of the Council of Ministers is expected to be ratified in the parliament, he underlined. This cooperation will be related to organized crime related to both countries.

What does this agreement provide?
We recall that the agreement on free movement in the countries of the Western Balkans provides for the free movement of persons with identity cards, the recognition of university degrees and the recognition of qualifications for three professions: doctors, dentists and architects. Thanks to the agreement signed on November 3, graduates will no longer need to pay fees of 200 to 500 euros for the mutual recognition of diplomas. The agreements reached are three of the four agreements, for which the leaders of the Western Balkan states had already agreed at the Sofia summit, in November 2020, at that time under former Chancellor Merkel.

/k.s/