1 December 2009 | EU member states decided Monday to grant visa-free travel to nationals of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia when entering the bloc’s Schengen area, as of 19 December.

The date for lifting the visa requirements was brought forward from 1 January, 2010, as a good will gesture, so that nationals of the three countries will be able to travel freely during the winter festive season.

The decision has been hotly anticipated, and all three countries have had to meet rigorous border and migration requirements.

EU ministers and officials hailed the decision as proof that the links between these three countries and the EU have been strengthened, and said the move opens up new opportunities for exchange and cooperation.

‘By simplifying the mobility of the citizens of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia, the EU will further foster the contacts between the Union and these countries and open a new era in our cooperation,’ said Vice President of the European Commission Jacques Barrot.

‘Today’s decision shows a very clear message that EU wants to send in this regard - that people who fill the roadmap are welcomed to get closer in relations with EU,’ added Tobias Billstrom, Swedish minister of interior.
Ministers pointed out that further visa liberalisation in the region is possible.

‘Dialogue should continue with Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina and we hope to make the same proposal for those two countries by mid 2010 once they fulfill necessary criteria,’ said Barrot.

Governments, opposition and ordinary people in Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro welcomed the news, seeing it as and opportunity to increase movement and as an incentive for their countries to pursue the reforms necessary to enter the EU.

Macedonia's government said the move is ''a huge practical gain for the citizens that will allow increased mobility, exchange of ideas and cooperation in all fields''.

Meanwhile several hundred people waving Macedonian and EU flags gathered in front of the Parliament and the Government buildings in Skopje to celebrate the event.

Serbian President Boris Tadic said that putting Serbia on the white Schengen list is one of the first steps towards its full integration into the EU. "We promised the citizens that we will achieve the abolition of visas, and we are now fulfilling our obligation," Tadic said.

Serbia's G17 Plus parliamentary whip Suzana Grubjesic stressed that an estimated 70 per cent of young people have never left the country.

The country's Education Minister Zarko Obradovic, pointed out that it will increase the mobility of students and teachers. "It will help us to exchange experiences, implement in our educational system what we find good in others' and allow others to learn about our educational system," Obradovic said.

Leader of the New Serbia political party, Velimir Ilic, welcomed the news, but noted that successive governments have worked towards visa liberalisation and it should not be attributed to this government only.

This article is courtesy of Balkan Insight, the online publication of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, which contains analytical reports, in-depth analyses and investigations and news items from throughout the region covering major challenges of the political, social and economic transition in the Balkans.