European Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration, Dimitris Avramopoulos said that the EU had no plans of reinstating EU visas for Serbian citizens.
In a statement for Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS), and immediately after the European Commission adopting the first report on the functioning of the visa-free regime for eight Western Balkan countries, Avramopoulos said that “the EU is fully committed to safeguarding visa-free travel for citizens of the Western Balkans and Eastern Partnership countries and we are working together with their governments towards this goal”.
The EU Commissioner also said that “this comes with responsibilities, for both citizens and the relevant authorities”, and added: “While we acknowledge the efforts of these countries to ensure that the progress made is sustained and that reforms continue to deliver concrete results, further work is needed. We expect all countries to step up their efforts to address irregular migration and fight organised crime and corruption in particular.”
The EC’s report focuses on the areas where further actions are required, in particular irregular migration and readmission, fight against corruption and money laundering as well as public order and security.
Citizens of Montenegro, Serbia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia can travel to the EU without a visa since December 2009. For citizens of Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina, this is possible since the end of 2010.
The visa-suspension mechanism allows for visa-free regimes to be halted under certain circumstances once they are in place. It was drafted as a condition for the implementation of visa-liberalization agreements for non-EU countries.
(B92, Europa.eu, 21.12.2017)
https://www.b92.net/info/vesti/index.php?yyyy=2017&mm=12&dd=20&nav_category=1262&nav_id=1338377
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