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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Mandate adopted for negotiations on visa relaxations for West Balkan countries

Belgrade/Brussels, 13 November 2006

The EU Council of Ministers at its meeting today in Brussels adopted the mandate for negotiations on readmission and visa relaxations for citizens of Serbia and other countries of the West Balkans, and asked the EU to begin negotiations during November, with the aim of concluding them as soon as possible.

The Council of Ministers also adopted mandates for negotiations on readmission and visa relaxations for citizens of Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Macedonia. It also adopted mandates for Albanian citizens on visa relaxations only, as Tirana has already concluded the agreement on readmission with the EU.

The foreign ministers of the EU stressed that further progress will depend on implementation of relevant reforms and called upon the West Balkans countries to strengthen efforts in implementation of reforms in the areas of public administration, fight against organised crime, corruption and illegal immigration, and to strengthen border control and security of documents, which envisages the introduction of biometric passports.

European Commissioner for Justice, Freedom and Security Franco Frattini and EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn stated that the first round of negotiations on visa relaxations and readmission will be held on November 30 in Brussels, with the aim of concluding the negotiations as soon as possible, at the latest by June, 2007.

Frattini and Rehn welcomed the decision of the Council of Ministers on adopting the mandate for negotiations, and said that this step shows “the dedication of the EU in promoting mutual human contact between the West Balkans and the EU.”

They stressed that the general aim of these agreements is to simplify the procedure for citizens of the West Balkans countries in obtaining a visa to the EU, and at the same time to show clear rules in fight against illegal immigration.

Frattini and Rehn said that concluding the agreements on visa relaxations will be connected with concluding agreements on readmission, which will contribute to the fight against illegal immigration.

According to Frattini and Rehn, the agreements on readmission regard obligations and procedures of authorities, in charge in countries of the West Balkans and EU, on how and when to return citizens of these countries who have illegal residence in the EU countries.

They said that the reduction of the fee for issuing a visa to all citizens of the western Balkans will also be discussed. Certain categories of citizens will get visas with less documentation, and they will also be given visas with multiple entries, for longer periods of time, free of charge.

These categories should include students and researchers, while similar benefits are also possible for businesspeople and journalists. As of January 1, 2007, the fee for issuing visas for Serbian citizens will not be increased from current €35 to €60 as planned.