The political analyst from Kosovo Albinot Maloku says that the citizens of Kosovo expect Bosnia and Herzegovina to ratify the Berlin Agreement and to remove unreasonable barriers.
In a statement to FENA, Maloku commented on the recently signed agreements on the mutual recognition of identity cards, university degrees and professional qualifications, which were signed by the leaders of six countries at a summit within the Berlin process: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, North Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo.
First, we have to clarify, explains Maloku, that when we talk about the freedom of movement of citizens between Kosovo and Serbia, an agreement was signed a long time ago that is the result of the Brussels dialogue, which allows citizens of those countries to travel to each other without visas or passports.
“The movement of citizens of Kosovo to Serbia and citizens of Serbia to Kosovo has been possible for years with identity cards,” Maloku points out.
And the agreement signed between the six countries of the Western Balkans as part of the Berlin Process is the product of their commitment to the Berlin Process, which will remove any bureaucratic barrier for free movement of citizens in those six countries.
“These agreements mostly concern citizens of Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, because only citizens of those countries need visas, which go through a strict regime. The agreement must be ratified by the parliaments of those countries, and the ratification period can take a long time,” says Maloku.
Unfortunately, he points out, only citizens of Kosovo cannot travel to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“Citizens of Kosovo can easily get tourist, family and study visas to go to Greece or other countries that have not recognized Kosovo, but it becomes impossible to go to Bosnia and Herzegovina,” emphasizes Maloku.
Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, he adds, also have family ties, and the citizens do not tolerate that distance easily.
“Kosovo has never stopped seeking a constructive and relaxing relationship from Bosnia and Herzegovina, but officially, Sarajevo has always been unresponsive. The leaders of Kosovo and other officials have always justified the actions of Bosnia and Herzegovina towards Kosovo to their citizens. What the citizens of Kosovo now expect from Bosnia and Herzegovina is to ratify the agreement that resulted from the Berlin process and to remove unreasonable barriers between the two countries, concludes Maloku in a statement for FENA.
