TIRANA TIMES
TIRANA, April 13 – In a letter published Tuesday in two newspapers in Italy and France, their respective foreign minister, Franco Frattini and Bernard Kouchner, have launched an appeal for
liberalization of entry visas to the EU Schengen area for the citizens of Bosnia and Albania.
”In the short term, we hope in particular that Albania and Bosnia-Herzegovina will benefit from liberalization of visas for short stays in the Schengen area,” write the two ministers in a letter published on Le Monde.
Frattini and Kouchner discussed the processes of integration of the Western Balkans in the EU during the Italian-French summit which was held last Friday in Paris.
There are 27 countries in the Schengen area of the EU, plus Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. United Kingdom and Ireland are not in it.
Frattini and Kouchner added,” the technical conditions must be achieved but we must not let the idea that Muslims in the Balkans are discriminated, i.e. unable to benefit from measures enjoyed, quite rightly, by the Serbs or Montenegrins since the end of 2009.’.
Freedom of movement and the EU integration are the keys that would allow the people of the Western Balkans to feel members of the European family, they said.
Last December, the 27 EU member countries revoked the visa requirement for Serbs, Montenegrins and Macedonians. That decision proved very disappointing for Bosnia and Albania.
The two ministers also said in their letter that Serbia and Kosovo “have the same goal to integrate into the European Union’ but must still organize their coexistence.”
During his visit Monday to Tirana Frattini made it clear that following the positive answer from experts this month, it was expected that the EU Council of Ministers would discuss the issue at the summit in Sarajevo June 2. Following that it was very likely that Albanians and Bosnians would travel visa-free, likely in September.
