Visa-free regime urged for Balkans
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Daily News with wires
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Haziran 18, 2009 00:00
LUXEMBOURG - European Union foreign ministers issued a fresh recommendation Monday on easing visa requirements for travel in its member-states for citizens of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, said Czech Foreign Minister Jan Kohout.
Ministers have encouraged the European Commission to annul visas by the end of the year, Kohout said on Monday in Luxembourg. The Czech Republic holds the EU presidency until June 30. "The Council encourages the European Commission to present as soon as possible a legislative proposal amending Regulation 539/2001, as it applies to the Member States, in order to achieve a visa free regime ideally by the end of 2009 with those countries that will have met all the benchmarks," the Macedonian Information Agency quoted the ministers’ statement as saying.
Earlier this month, EU Justice Commissioner Jacques Barrot said five Western Balkan nations were on track for visa liberalization.
Barrot said Macedonia had shown "good progress" toward meeting the EU conditions, Serbia and Montenegro had shown "progress," while Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania had shown "some progress" but still had to improve in some areas.
All five countries are keen to join the EU, but their membership talks are at different stages. A continuing obstacle for Macedonia is the dispute with neighboring Greece over its name Ğ and internationally it is still widely described as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
Meanwhile, Macedonia said it is confident that its citizens will enjoy visa-free travel to EU countries by next January. The officials in the Serbian capital, Belgrade, said they were also working to meet the EU conditions.
Earlier this month, EU Justice Commissioner Jacques Barrot said five Western Balkan nations were on track for visa liberalization.
Barrot said Macedonia had shown "good progress" toward meeting the EU conditions, Serbia and Montenegro had shown "progress," while Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania had shown "some progress" but still had to improve in some areas.
All five countries are keen to join the EU, but their membership talks are at different stages. A continuing obstacle for Macedonia is the dispute with neighboring Greece over its name Ğ and internationally it is still widely described as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
Meanwhile, Macedonia said it is confident that its citizens will enjoy visa-free travel to EU countries by next January. The officials in the Serbian capital, Belgrade, said they were also working to meet the EU conditions.