Actor Alban Ukaj’s parents from Pristina came to Sarajevo twice in the 22 years he has lived there. They don’t come because they need visas, and the procedures are difficult and kill dignity, says Ukaj.
Announcements that visas could be abolished after the signing of the agreement on mobility in the Western Balkans, from November 2022 as part of the Berlin process, are questionable after new blockades from the Republika Srpska (RS) entity.
“The time will come to take responsibility for endangering basic human freedoms,” comments Ukaj on the announcement by politicians from the RS entity that they will further block the agreement.
The abolition of visas with Kosovo has been opposed by politicians from that entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) for years, headed by entity president Milorad Dodik, leader of the ruling Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD).
New blockades are looming after the recent speech of the chairman of the BiH Presidency, Zeljka Cvijanovic, an SNSD official, who declared the issue destructive to the vital interest of the RS entity.
Cvijanovic explained the possibility of a veto by the escalation of the crisis in the north of Kosovo, and pointed out that the “regime” of Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti “does not deserve benefits”.
On June 21st, she announced the launch of the veto, as a constitutional possibility for the members of the BiH Presidency, which would further cement the agreement on the visa-free regime.
Where does Cvijanovic see the problem?
One of the three agreements on mobility in the Western Balkans, which were signed in November 2022 as part of the Berlin process, refers to freedom of movement with identity cards in the Western Balkans, and the other two to the recognition of university degrees and professional qualifications.
In the case of Kosovo and BiH, this also means the abolition of the visa regime, which has burdened the residents of the two countries for years.
However, politicians from the RS refuse ratification, even though the former chairman of the BiH Council of Ministers, Zoran Tegeltija, who is a member of Dodik’s party, was a signatory of that document in Berlin last year, Slobodna Evropa reports.
E.Dz.
