European Parliament favours visa free regime for Serbia from Dec 19

European Parliament MPs today adopted the report proposing that EU interior ministers abolish visas for the citizens of Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia starting from December 19. The declaration from the report, which the Parliament’s rapporteur for visa liberalisation Tanya Fayon read before the voting, says that Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia have met all the conditions for visa abolishment, adding that the Parliament proposes they should be exempt from visa requirements as of December 19.

A total of 550 MPs voted in favour of the resolution proposal, 51 were against it and 37 abstained from voting.

The European Parliament resolution is consultative in nature and is in the form of a political recommendation, while the final decision on visa abolishment will be made by the EU Council of Ministers before November 30.

The declaration adds that other Western Balkan states should also be exempt from Schengen visa requirements, including Bosnia-Herzegovina and Albania, as soon as they meet the conditions from the roadmap.

Deputy Prime Minister for EU integration Bozidar Djelic and European Commission Vice President Jacques Barrot also attended the voting, after which Djelic stated that the adoption of the European Parliament’s resolution on visa abolishment is an important day for Serbia’s EU integration process.

This shows that there are no more doubts about the Western Balkan’s European future, Djelic said noting that 86% of MPs voted in favour of the proposal, which is much more than expected.

We have been waiting more than 18 years for this day and the applause that followed came from all parties, the left and the right wing, the greens and the democrats, from people who might hold a different opinion about many issues, but this shows that the entire Europe endorses visa liberalisation for our country. This is a huge success for our citizens and I sincerely congratulate them on it, the Deputy Prime Minister concluded.