Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on progress by Kosovo in fulfilling the requirements of the visa liberalisation roadmap

The European Commission launched a visa liberalisation dialogue with Kosovo on 19 January 2012 and handed over to its government, on 14 June 2012, a roadmap towards a visa-free regime. Kosovo had already implemented a considerable set of reforms in 2010 and 2011, notably in the field of readmission and reintegration, which enabled the Commission to launch this dialogue in 2012.

The visa liberalisation roadmap identifies the legislation and all other measures that Kosovo needs to adopt and implement and the requirements it needs to fulfil in the short term to advance towards visa liberalisation. Kosovo should first adopt or amend in line with the EU acquis the legislation set out in the roadmap. It should then fully implement that legislation and all other measures specified in the roadmap.

A large body of legislation already exists in Kosovo in the areas covered by the visa roadmap. In some policy areas, the existing legislation is already in line with the essential elements of the EU acquis; in others, the adoption of new laws, further alignment with the acquis or the adoption of secondary legislation remains necessary.

The Commission held the first senior officials’ meeting with Kosovo in the context of the visa dialogue on 14 June 2012, requesting that the Kosovo authorities provide a comprehensive report on the state of Kosovo’s preparedness under the visa roadmap, with a focus on legislative alignment. The government delivered this report and a legal analysis on 15 September 2012. To evaluate Kosovo’s progress in the visa dialogue, the Commission services conducted an assessment mission to Kosovo on 22-24 October 2012, assisted by several experts of EU Member States, the EU Office in Kosovo and EULEX.

The present document is the first regular report setting out the Commission’s assessment of Kosovo’s progress in fulfilling the requirements of the visa liberalisation roadmap. In line with the visa liberalisation roadmap, it evaluates the following, with a focus on legislative alignment with the EU acquis:
(1) Kosovo’s record in adopting or amending in line with the EU acquis the legislation set out in the roadmap;
(2) Kosovo’s record in implementing the legislation and all other measures set out in the roadmap;
(3) The expected migratory and security impacts of the liberalisation of the visa regime.

EUR-Lex: COM(2013)66: Follow the progress of this report through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2013:066:FIN

ESO: Background information: First Commission report on progress by Kosovo towards visa liberalisation http://www.europeansources.info/record/press-release-first-commission-report-on-progress-by-kosovo-towards-visa-liberalisation/

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