Q:
A:
EU prepares visa regime facilitation project for four Western Balkan countries
Belgrade,
7 February 2006
Director of the Serbian government's EU Integration Office Tanja Miscevic said today it is necessary that Serbia overcomes all obstacles and solves several political and technical issues, such as the dual visa regime in Serbia-Montenegro, so that citizens can travel more easily to EU countries.
Tanja Miscevic
In a statement to the Tanjug news agency, Miscevic said that in order to achieve this, the police will have to take over border security from the army, old passports be replaced with new ones, more difficult to be forged, and Serbia-Montenegro will have to sign agreements on readmission with those EU countries with which they have not been signed.
According to Miscevic, visa regime facilitation when travelling to Schengen Agreement Countries is still the distant future for Serbia, but at least students, professors, scientists and businessmen will have easier access to EU countries.
She announced that as of 2007, certain categories of citizens will be able to undergo an easier procedure when applying for a visa, while other categories will still have to do the usual queuing in front of embassies of EU countries.
"At this moment, the EU is preparing a visa regime facilitation project for four Western Balkan countries, Macedonia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia-Montenegro. The EU Commission should ask for a mandate for visa facilitation with Macedonia in March, since this country has gone the furthest regarding EU integration", said Miscevic.
She added it remains uncertain whether the EU will discuss visa facilitation with Serbia-Montenegro right after the talks with Macedonia, which could be approved by the EU Council of Ministers as soon as this autumn.
Miscevic recalled that conditions vary for each country, depending on the amount of progress each of them has achieved.
According to Miscevic, visa regime facilitation when travelling to Schengen Agreement Countries is still the distant future for Serbia, but at least students, professors, scientists and businessmen will have easier access to EU countries.
She announced that as of 2007, certain categories of citizens will be able to undergo an easier procedure when applying for a visa, while other categories will still have to do the usual queuing in front of embassies of EU countries.
"At this moment, the EU is preparing a visa regime facilitation project for four Western Balkan countries, Macedonia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia-Montenegro. The EU Commission should ask for a mandate for visa facilitation with Macedonia in March, since this country has gone the furthest regarding EU integration", said Miscevic.
She added it remains uncertain whether the EU will discuss visa facilitation with Serbia-Montenegro right after the talks with Macedonia, which could be approved by the EU Council of Ministers as soon as this autumn.
Miscevic recalled that conditions vary for each country, depending on the amount of progress each of them has achieved.
-
Belgrade, 30 March 2026Cooperation with Russia, Belarus in areas of mutual interest
-
Belgrade, 27 March 2026World Bank support for implementation of priority energy projects
-
Belgrade, 27 March 2026Continued cooperation with Germany on utility infrastructure projects
-
Belgrade, 26 March 2026Activities of state institutions for opening clusters 2 and 5 examined
-
Belgrade, 26 March 2026Exchange of experiences with Slovakia in field of ICT
-
Belgrade, 26 March 2026Advancing regional cooperation in response to emergencies
-
Belgrade, 26 March 2026Ample potential for further strengthening cooperation between Serbia, Slovakia
-
Belgrade, 26 March 2026Serbia committed to enhancing cooperation with United States in numerous areas
-
Belgrade, 25 March 2026Successful cooperation with Hungary in many areas
-
Novi Sad, 25 March 2026EU programmes important instrument for more balanced regional development