Regulation (EU) 2024/2495 amending Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 as regards holders of Serbian passports issued by the Serbian Coordination Directorate (Koordinaciona uprava)

Summary:

Regulation (EU) 2024/2495 - adopted by the co-legislators on 18 September 2024 - introducing amendments to Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 as regards holders of Serbian passports issued by the Serbian Coordination Directorate.

Further information:

Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 lists the non-EU countries whose nationals must possess a visa for the crossing of European Union (EU) Member States' external borders and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement. It replaced and codified the much-amended Regulation (EC) No 539/2001, including by Regulation (EC) No 1244/2009. The latter amendment transferred North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia to the Annex listing those exempt from the visa requirements (applying solely to biometric passports).

In view of concerns at the time about risks of irregular migration originating from Kosovo and the fact that no visa liberalisation dialogue had by then taken place with Kosovo, one category of holders of Serbian passports was excluded from the visa requirement exemption, namely passport issued by the Serbian Coordination Directorate. This directorate processes all passport applications received from Kosovo Serbs residing in Kosovo and the Kosovo Serb diaspora living outside Kosovo. The Directorate was established during the visa liberalisation dialogue with Serbia.

In 2009, Kosovo was included in the Annex requiring passport holders to be in possession of a visa when crossing the external borders of the EU Member States. Following a successful dialogue, Regulation (EU) 2023/850 was adopted to exempt biometric passports from Kosovo from January 2024. In this circumstance, holders of Serbian passports issued by the Serbian Coordination Directorate would remain the only citizens in the Western Balkan region required to be in possession of a visa when travelling to the EU for short stays.

This Regulation introduces amendments allowing such citizens to a visa exemption just like all other citizens of the Western Balkan region.

The draft law was adopted by the European Commission on 16 November 2023. This was endorsed by the plenary of the European Parliament on 23 April 2024 by the Council of the European Union on 22 July. The Act was signed by the co-legislators on 18 September 2024 and published in the Official Journal on 23 September 2024.

Official

EUR-LEX: COM(2023)733: Proposal for a Regulation amending Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 as regards holders of Serbian passports issued by the Serbian Coordination Directorate (Koordinaciona uprava) https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=COM:2023:733:FIN

Publications Office of the EU: EU Law Tracker: Proposal for a Regulation amending Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 as regards holders of Serbian passports issued by the Serbian Coordination Directorate (Koordinaciona uprava) https://law-tracker.europa.eu/procedure/2023_418?lang=en

European Parliament: Legislative Observatory: Procedure File for Proposal on Third countries whose nationals are subject to or exempt from a visa requirement when crossing the external borders: holders of Serbian passports issued by the Serbian Coordination Directorate (Koordinaciona uprava) (2023/0418(COD)) https://oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/ficheprocedure.do?lang=en&reference=2023/0418(COD)

General Secretariat of the Council (EU): Policies: EU visa policy https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/policies/eu-visa-policy/

Council of the European Union: Press Release 22/07/2024: Council decides to remove visa requirement for holders of Serbian passports issued by Serbian Coordination Directorate https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2024/07/22/council-decides-to-remove-visa-requirement-for-holders-of-serbian-passports-issued-by-serbian-coordination-directorate/

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