<div><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>A long-awaited European Union’s visa liberalization scheme allowing Kosovo nationals to travel to Europe’s borderless zone without a visa came into force on Monday.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The new regime, which came into force at midnight (2300 GMT Sunday), enables Kosovars to travel to the passport-free Schengen zone without a visa for periods of up to 90 days in any 180-day period.</div><div><br></div><div>Kosovo, with a population of 1.8 million, was the last of the six countries in the Western Balkans to get the waiver.</div><div><br></div><div>The reform is perceived in Pristina as another step toward full recognition and a boost for the ambition of the country that proclaimed independence in 2008 to join the EU.</div><div><br></div><div>According to the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, Kosovo by 2018 met all the needed criteria for the visa-free regime, including border and migration management.</div><div><br></div><div>But the approval has been held up by France and the Netherlands, that were concerned about the possibility of new migration waves as well as by five other EU members - Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Slovakia and Spain.</div><div><br></div><div>The five do not recognize Kosovo’s independence from Serbia, neither does the latter.</div><div><br></div><div>Before the EU lifted the visa regime with Kosovo, its passport holders could travel without a visa only to 14 countries all over the world.</div><div><br></div><div>During the past few months, the government in Pristina has been conducting a public awareness campaign urging people not to misuse the freedom of travel by looking for jobs in the EU.</div><div><br></div><div>Later on Monday, Prime Minister Albin Kurti, who leads the campaign himself, is to address the first Kosovo residents who will travel from the Pristina airport to the EU without a visa. - AFP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>