European Commission
Malmström

I am on my way home from Kosovo after two interesting days. The media attention here on the launch of the visa dialogue was huge. In the Spring we will begin formal negotiations, but the Government is already working on the many reforms needed. Kosovo is a young state and a lot of the democratic infrastructure and legal reforms have yet to be put into place.

Yesterday I had a very interesting working dinner with representatives from different parts of civil society in Kosovo. It was a lively discussion and they were far from united. Their picture of developments and challenges in the country is of course different from the image the government portrays.  But that was the very purpose of the visit: to listen to different opinions in order to get a full picture of the complex situation in the Balkans.

This morning I visited a school that works with integration of ethnic minorities (not only Serbs and Bosnians but also Roma, Ashkali and Balkan Egyptians) and ensuring that these children attend school. I had a good opportunity to talk to kids in the fourth grade. It was a mixed class with Albanian-speaking children as well as those from minority groups, many of whom had been returned from various European countries. It was very interesting.

I also visited an NGO that works on micro projects for Roma women in order for them to get a small income, rather than begging. The women I met made soap, which they sold on a small scale. They were very proud that they had managed to get some bigger orders from a a couple of hotels in Pristina. It means they don’t have to beg, they learn to read at night and their children are in school. The pride they radiated could not be mistaken, and I bring a small bag of scented soap as well as these memories back home.

This type of project is of course impressive and extremely needed. The unemployment in Kosovo is over 40 % and among minorities almost 90 %.

I am in Pristina, Kosovo for two days. The purpose of the visit is to launch a visa dialogue with the country. All Balkan countries today, except for Kosovo, enjoy visa freedom with the EU. Being able to visit family and friends or go for a holiday or a business trip without having to go through complicated visa procedures, is an excellent way to increase people to people contact. My aim is to remove as many visa requirements with countries outside the EU as possible.

In order for visa freedom to work, there are of course conditions. We require (as all countries do) that the country in question has a well functioning border control, that they fight corruption and organized crime, that there are proper asylum procedures in place etc. Kosovo has just fulfilled the first conditions for initiating a dialogue, which I launched today with the Prime Minister Thaci.

The next step is to develop a so-called Roadmap where further areas of reform will be listed. With that list, which must be approved by the Council of Ministers, we can then start the real negotiations. It will probably take some time but from the Commission side, we will do everything possible to support reforms, which also involves a consolidation of the democratic development of the country.

I have also met with several Ministers, I have visited the EULEX (the EU rule of law mission in Kosovo) and visited a centre for rehabilitation of trafficking victims. It was very emotional talking to the girls at the centre who are now getting help returning to normal life after the horrific experience.

Tonight awaits a dinner with a number of representatives of civil society, journalists, NGOs, etc.

Today we have proposed to start negotiations on visa facilitation with Armenia and Azerbaijan. The possibility to ease visa requirements for the citizens of these countries is an important part of our work within the Eastern partnership where we have already initiated dialogues with Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. The judicial system and border control in these countries still needs be improved but this is a good opportunity to engage in a dialogue and hopefully impact upon the pace of reform in these two countries.

The dialogue would just be a beginning and it will take a lot of work before visa facilitation can be a reality. Belarus is also part of the Eastern Partnership, but there are currently no dialogues ongoing. We are trying to find ways for ordinary Belarusian citizens and especially students to travel to Europe, but Lukashenko’s regime is not very eager to agree to this.

The main discussion in today’s Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting was of course about the situation in Northern Africa. The discussion focused on the need for solidarity and about what measures can be taken by the EU and the member states to support the democratic forces in the region.

I’m very happy about the decision of the Council today to adopt the readmission agreement with Turkey. Turkey is an important partner and we need to intensify our cooperation. The Council also agreed to launch a visa dialogue and I’m ready to go to Turkey to identify which efforts that needs to be taken.