BELGRADE, Serbia  

Citizens of Kosovo welcomed 2024 by gaining the right to travel to the Schengen region without a visa on Monday.

As of Jan. 1, Kosovars will be able to travel to the Schengen region without a visa for up to 90 days within a 180-day period, and thus there will be no country left in the Western Balkans that cannot travel to the region without a visa.

''An achievement after years of hard work. Visa-free travel brings key benefits for citizens on both sides, further strengthening Kosovo's relationship with the EU,'' the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

In 2012, European Union institutions tasked Kosovo with fulfilling 95 criteria to have the right to visa-free travel. The process was blocked many times due to Kosovo's failure to meet some criteria.

The EU side also used visa-free travel as "bait" or a "reward" for the steps it wanted Kosovo to take on many issues, including its dialogue with Serbia.

Kosovo politicians also cited gaining the right to visa-free travel as the main promise in the campaigns of all elections held during the period.

Approximately one in every three citizens of Kosovo lives in European countries, and therefore visa exemption for Kosovars means much more than a tourist visit.

Kosovo was able to receive a positive response from EU institutions for visa-free travel in the first half of 2023 after many EU countries, especially Germany and Austria, convinced pessimistic countries such as France and the Netherlands.

Western Balkan countries Serbia, Montenegro and North Macedonia gained the right to travel to the Schengen region without a visa in 2009 and Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2010.

It is estimated that the country will become even closer to the EU after the visa-free travel decision is implemented. Although a year has passed since Kosovo submitted its EU membership application, it has not received a positive response in this regard.

After Georgia was granted EU candidate status in December, Kosovo remained the only country that applied to the union but still did not receive candidate status.

Following tensions in the north of Kosovo throughout 2023, the EU imposed some punitive measures on the country. In particular, the measures prevent the country from benefiting from EU funds in several areas.

Kosovo leaders say they are doing their part to lift the “unfair” measures and demand that they be removed as soon as possible.

Leaders also hope to receive support from EU countries for Kosovo to become a full member of the Council of Europe and to become a member of the Partnership for Peace Program, a prerequisite for NATO membership.