Keepin touch

Whether you have a question, comment, suggestion or any problem in the purview of the government, send us your message and we will try to respond as soon as possible. If your problem is not in our purview, we will forward your message to the relevant institution.

The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Serbia makes major progress towards visa liberalisation

Belgrade, 22 May 2009

First Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Ivica Dacic said today that the European Commission’s report on the progress of the West Balkan countries towards visa liberalisation states that Serbia has made major progress in almost all areas specified by the EU’s roadmap on visa liberalisation.

Author: Tanjug

In a statement to Tanjug news agency Dacic stressed that the report is very positive, adding that for achieving even better results it will be necessary to technically and financially better equip the Interior Ministry and other ministries which are doing work on areas related to visa liberalisation.

He said that now EU countries need to give their opinion of the report in order for a formal recommendation to be made to remove visa restrictions for the Serbian citizens which would be examined in the upcoming period.

The issue of visa restrictions is not just a political one, rather it is primarily related to security, internal affairs, the judiciary and immigration, said Dacic, stressing that the EU countries want to ensure that visa liberalisation will not be misused.

He said that this is why it is necessary to establish a number of procedures for issuing Serbian citizenship and passports to Serbian citizens, including those living in Kosovo.

Speaking about the issuance of passports to citizens in Kosovo, Dacic said that it must be kept in mind that a number of security and other verifications will be necessary because for the last ten years Kosovo administration has been run by the UN. He said that he expects that solutions to all these technical problems will lead to a positive report and stance by the European Commission and EU countries regarding the removal of visa restrictions for Serbian citizens.

Dacic reminded that he has had a number of meetings with representatives of various countries and a declaration was recently signed with Bulgaria and Romania according to which these two EU members will give full support to the removal of visa restrictions for Serbia.

The first official reactions, concrete proposals or suggestions concerning further steps towards the removal of visa restrictions are expected by the middle or end of next month, said Dacic.

Now it is only a question of time, to see when Serbia is technically ready, said Dacic, adding that the Interior Ministry and the Serbian government have met all conditions for the removal of visa restrictions.