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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Serbia’s inclusion in White Schengen List by end of year realistic goal

Belgrade, 18 January 2008

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic commented on the announcement of beginning of dialogue on removing visa restrictions for Serbian citizens for travel to Schengen countries, that this is excellent news for all Serbian citizens and confirms that the aim to put Serbia on the White Schengen List by the end of 2008 is realistic.

Bozidar Djelic

Djelic said that this announcement by the European Commission is a huge recognition of all that the Serbian government has done in the process of European integration, and recalled that Serbia has made huge progress in reaching security and regulations standards which are necessary for complete visa liberalisation.

According to Djelic, Serbian parliament has adopted the law on travel documents and the law on asylum. It is expected that very soon laws on state borders, foreigners and protection of personal data will also be adopted.

He said that the Serbian government has approved the prototype of the new Serbian passport which will be one of the safest and most modern in Europe, and added that this is a biometric passport and is falsification-proof to the highest degree.

He said that the procedure of replacing old passports with new ones will begin in April and last until the end of 2008, and new passports will be given to citizens under favourable conditions.

Djelic recalled that the working group in charge of inclusion in the White Schengen List has adopted a plan for 2008, which envisages intensive implementation of the strategy of integrated border control and modernisation of borders.

According to Djelic, adjustment of the Serbian Visa Information System with the Schengen system is underway, and from April 1 the new asylum mechanism will also begin to function.

The fight against corruption, organised crime and illegal immigration is also being continued.

The agreements on visa relaxation and readmission are being successfully implemented since January 1 this year and there is still a lot of work to do, but our institutions are ready to fulfill all standards so that Serbian citizens may travel without visa to all Schengen countries from the beginning of 2009, stressed the Deputy Prime Minister.