The European Parliament approved visa liberalization for holders of Serbian passports from Kosovo

The EP approved it with 406 votes in favor, 97 against, while 94 MPs abstained from voting.

This decision enables a visa-free travel regime in the European Union for up to 90 days for holders of Serbian passports, which ensures that the entire Western Balkan region has the same visa regime for travel to the EU, according to the press service of the European Parliament.

The reporter for this issue, Matjaž Nemec, pointed out after the vote that the extension of EU visa liberalization to the Serbian residents of Kosovo is important because of the prevention of discrimination against those citizens, who were the only category of residents of the Western Balkans who needed a visa to travel to the Schengen area.

This is a technical decision and is not an attempt to resolve the dispute between Serbia and Kosovo, but a pragmatic solution to ensure equal treatment of citizens. Now that the proposal has been adopted by the parliament, I hope that the law will be finalized before the elections for the European Parliament, which are held from June 6 to 9, Nemec said.

The European Parliament adopted this proposal without amendments, so it can enter into force when it is adopted by the Council of the European Union.

The decision enters into force on the twentieth day after its publication in the Official Journal of the EU.