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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Serbian citizens to travel to EU visa free next year

Belgrade, 2 February 2008

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic announced that Serbian citizens holding the new passport will be able to travel to EU countries without visas at the end of this year or early next year at the latest.

In an interview to daily Press, Djelic stressed that in order to travel; citizens will no longer need to be interviewed, to wait, to get guarantee letters, certificates or pay for visas, noting that each new step closer to the EU means new investments and new jobs.

The government's official website brings excerpts from the interview.

What do citizens have to do so that we join the White Schengen List?

Citizens will have to have a new passport with eight levels of protection. This is the first time since 1918 that citizens get Serbian passports. They will cost RSD 2,000, including VAT. The government and the Interior Ministry have forgone any handling charges. Passports cost €37 in Montenegro, €36 in Slovenia while in Croatia a passport of poorer quality costs €30.

What does the government have to do?

Next week, our expert groups will travel to Brussels to negotiate various elements of the agreement, such as the introduction of passports and the implementation of the existing Agreement on visa relaxation. Our country must continue to fight against crime. From March 10 to 14 a high-ranking European commission will visit Belgrade to examine the traffic security situation. By the end of March we will know the pace of negotiations and the list of things we need to do.

What is the benefit for citizens?

Citizens will have more chances to travel. Low-cost air companies will provide cheaper transportation and we will ratify the Open Skies Agreement. The country, which is certain to become an EU member, will attract more investors, which opens more opportunities for money, jobs and a better way of life. For example, the unemployment rate in Bulgaria fell from 15% to 5% in the past four years, in Poland from 20% to 8%. If we continue like this, we will halve the unemployment rate in Serbia. Investors come to countries with legal safety, and that is provided under the wing of the EU. For those who don’t have money to travel, we will organise a series of free trips for pensioners, workers, students, so that they too get to know Europe.

What is included in the text of the political agreement that the EU offered which is to be signed next week?

I expect the text to arrive in the coming days so that it can pass through government procedure. With the EU, there are no surprises. Elements of the annex of the conclusions of the Council of Ministers are known already. For the first time, all members guarantee EU accession for Serbia and for the first time they support visa abolishment. There is only one step separating us from the Stabilisation and Association Agreement, that is additional cooperation with the Hague tribunal, and I believe we can surmount that soon.

On the connection between the Kosovo issue and EU integration:

Kosovo-Metohija and the EU are separate issues. We tell our partners in the EU that Serbia wants both Kosovo and the EU. That's the united policy of the government as confirmed in parliament.