Visa Regime between Albania and EU to be Liberalised in 2009
BalkanTravellers.com
Frattini made the statement on Tuesday, after meeting with his Albanian counterpart Lulzim Basha, the Macedonian news agency MIA reported.
Before the visa liberalisation could take place, Albania will have to fulfil two main conditions – to secure reliable identification documents for its citizens and to carry out an efficient fight against crime, according to Frattini.
Albanian should complete the already started reforms, Frattini advised and recommended a closer cooperation between the government in power and the opposition.
As BalkanTravellers.com reported in September, Albania is already in the process of supplying its citizens with high-security identity documents, including cards and passports with biometric data. That process – according to Lulzim Basha, is one of the government’s priorities.
The EU visa regime liberalisation is part of the Union’s general initiative to ease restrictions for the Western Balkan countries. It started a dialogue with Serbia in January of this year and continued with Macedonia and Montenegro in February, as BalkanTravellers.com reported in May.
Albanian citizens have enjoyed some benefits since the beginning of the year. Some categories of visitors to the EU, such as students, athletes, cultural workers and journalists enjoy easier visa access. In addition, the visa fee was lowered from 60 to 35 euros and visas that are valid for up to five years and allow multiple entries are now issued.
Read more about Albania on BalkanTravellers.com
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