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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Serbia expects positive report on white Schengen

Belgrade, 12 October 2009

First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Ivica Dacic today voiced his belief that the report of the expert committee, which began the last checks of the visa liberalisation criteria in Belgrade today, will be positive.

Dacic told the Tanjug news agency that in late November or early December the committee will propose that the EU Council of Ministers for Justice and of the Interior abolish visas for Serbian citizens, starting from January 1, 2010.

He specified that the committee comprises several experts from France, Hungary, the UK, Germany and Italy, adding that they will look at the implementation of the adopted legal framework and strategies and action plans needed for the European Commission to make the final decision on visa liberalisation.

He said that the goal is to verify whether the remaining criteria from the visa liberalisation roadmap have been fulfilled, noting that several areas are of special importance and will be paid special attention.

He specified that these areas are safety of travel documents, i.e. the security of procedures for issuing new biometric passports. He added that the functioning of a new coordinating administration office of the Ministry of the Interior, tasked with issuing passports to Serbian citizens resident in Kosovo-Metohija, will be examined.

Dacic said that infrastructure, equipment and information technologies at border crossings will be reviewed, as well as the implementation of the Law on foreign residents, ways of suppressing illegal migration, the policy of prevention and fight against organised crime and the fight against corruption.

The Ministry will examine the implementation of the protocol on police cooperation between themselves and EULEX on exchanging information on all forms of crime, and it will also control and supervise the Kosovo-Metohija administrative line, Dacic explained.