EUROPEAN MOVEMENT IN SERBIA
Activities/Conferences
Regional Roundtable:

The Western Balkans: Regional Response to Visa Liberalization Issue

(Belgrade, 18-19th May, 2006
Institute of International Politics and Economics, Makedonska 25)

Conclusions and Recommendations

To the EU countries and EC:

  • EU visa policy toward WB countries is hampering the reforms in the WB countries and the European integration process
  • We are inviting the international non-governmental and intergovernmental organizations to continue their support to the reform processes in the related sectors and the promotion of visa liberalization issue
  • We support the current initiative of the EC and talks with the WB countries on the facilitation of the visa regime for certain categories of citizens
  • Simultaneously with the visa facilitation negotiations, EU should draft, in cooperation with the WB countries, roadmap for the visa abolishment. The roadmaps should rely upon the results of the EC CARDS programme/projects which are/were implemented and actual achievements of each country in the reforms in the fields of migration, asylum, visa and integrated border management

To the Western Balkans countries:

  • To facilitate/liberalize visa regime within the Western Balkans region
  • All Western Balkans countries should accelerate reforms towards achieving the EU standards in the area of the visa, asylum, migration and border management
  • Western Balkans governments, using already existing mechanisms of regional cooperation (MARRI, SEECP etc.) and through their multilateral consultations, should permanently cooperate in:
    • Periodical analysis of the achievements of each country (with special attention to the periodical statistical reports on migrations as a common ground for defining common regional migration policies),
    • Exchange experiences and best practices in proper reforms and
    • Share examples of other Balkan countries and new EU member states
  • In accordance with the achieved results in reforms on regional level, the governments should formulate regional proposals to EU concerning gradual achievement of the objective of visa abolishment for all Western Balkans countries
  • Civil sector in the region should strengthen cooperation in promoting further the idea of visa abolishment through:
    • Joint activities towards raising the awareness of the issue at the regional level
    • Joint advocacy towards EU and its member states