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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Year and a half of reforms leads to visa liberalisation

Belgrade, 1 December 2009

First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Ivica Dacic today said that the decision of the EU Council of Ministers on visa liberalisation with Serbia is the key political event in the last decade.

Author: www.rts.rs

Dacic told the Radio Television Serbia that visa removal is a success behind which all state institutions stand, adding that it is also the result of the reforms implemented in the past year and a half. He said that until Serbia enters the EU, visa abolishment will most likely be the only benefit which Serbian citizens will feel.

This is an important moment for the Serbian government as well, because the removal of visa restrictions is a direct message from EU institutions, Dacic said, adding that yesterday Serbia began issuing the second generation of biometric passports.

He noted that currently only three European countries are applying these standards in the passport issuing procedure, adding that Serbia has so far issued over 1.4 million biometric passports.

He said that the European Commission office in Belgrade and the Ministry of the Interior will soon publish a brochure on the benefits of visa liberalisation, as well as the penalties for disrespecting regulations. Dacic recalled that visa liberalisation does not mean that Serbian citizens can now work in EU states and called upon everyone to adhere to the regulations and the length of time they can spend in the EU. He voiced his expectation that residents of Kosovo-Metohija will also be included in the Schengen white list soon, stressing that visa liberalisation also includes over 200,000 people with IDP status. Dacic said it is important that citizens feel the kind of freedom they used to have in the past, when they travelled with the old passports and did not need visas.

He announced that on December 17 and 18 a meeting of interior ministers from former Yugoslav republics will be held in Zagreb to discuss their joint activities in the fight against crime and corruption.