Visa liberalisation becomes reality

21/12/2009

Macedonians, Montenegrins and Serbs holding biometric passports no longer need to queue up in front of an embassy if they want to travel to the EU.

(FT, MIA, Focus News Agency - 20/12/09; AP, AFP, BBC, Beta, B92, Novinite - 19/12/09; The Sofia Echo - 18/12/09)

Macedonians celebrate their new visa-free status on Saturday (December 19th). [Tomislav Georgiev/SETimes]

For three countries in the region, 18 years of visa restrictions came to an end on Saturday (December 19th), when a decision taken by EU interior ministers last month entered into force. Leaders hailed the occasion as a milestone on the path to eventual EU membership.

Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski spoke of a "historic moment" for his country, while Montenegrin counterpart Milo Djukanovic said it was "the happiest news" for people in the Adriatic republic this year. According to Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic, the abolition of the EU visa requirements introduced in 1991, when the former Yugoslavia began falling apart, was "a victory for all Serbian citizens".

"This is a strong encouragement for the [EU] integration of the Western Balkans," the interior ministers of the three Balkan nations said in a joint statement Saturday.

Possession of a biometric passport is the only requirement Macedonians, Montenegrins and Serbs must meet now to be able to travel to any of the 28 countries in the Schengen zone. It includes all EU member states, except Britain and Ireland, plus non-EU members Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.

The three EU hopefuls celebrated their inclusion on the so-called "white Schengen list" with fireworks, concerts and all-night festivities, the AP reported.

To mark the event, 100 Montenegrin citizens -- mainly students, but also members of socially vulnerable groups, such as pensioners and farmers -- were sent on a one-day celebratory trip to Rome, while as many randomly selected Macedonians paid a visit to Paris.

Meanwhile, 50 Serbian nationals headed on a government-sponsored trip to Brussels and several other EU capitals shortly after the decision on the removal of the visa restrictions entered into force.

"These are ordinary people who have done something extraordinary and have so far never seen Europe," Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic, who accompanied the group, told a press conference.

About 70% of the young Serbs have reportedly never travelled abroad.

Macedonians are required to replace their old passports with biometric ones by 2012. The number of people wishing to get this done earlier has surged this month, stretching capacity to keep up with the demand. According to the interior ministry, new applicants may have to wait until September 2010 to get their new documents, although the process can be expedited for 35 euros -- double the regular fee.

Once the nationals of the three Balkan states have obtained their biometric passports, they will no longer have to wait in long lines in front of EU nations' embassies or present numerous documents to be issued a visa.

Stevan Peshevski, head of Savanna, one of Macedonia's biggest tourist agencies, said it is too early to gauge the effect of the EU's decision on his line of work.

"We are expecting increased movement of tourists, but in accordance with the economic possibilities, of course," he said.

Airlines, including low-cost carriers, appear to be optimistic. The Hungarian and Romanian national carriers, Malev and Tarom, launched flights to Belgrade earlier this month. At least five low-cost airlines are reportedly also interested in launching flights to Serbia, the British daily Financial Times reported on Sunday.

Marina Stojanovska in Skopje contributed to this report.