The European Parliament Committee on Civil Freedoms on Tuesday backed plans to lift visa requirements for travellers from Bosnia-Herzegovina and Albania, who should be able to travel freely to all Schengen countries by the end of the year.
The proposal is expected to be discussed by the entire European Parliament at a mini plenary session next week, while the final decision is expected to be adopted by the EU interior ministers in early November.
The European Commission is confident that both countries have met the criteria for the cancellation of visa requirements.
Today we sent a strong and positive signal to the citizens of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Albania that the European Union is prepared to revoke visa requirements for travellers to the Schengen area. Both countries have met the technical criteria, which has been recognised by the European Commission. I hope that we can enable the citizens of both countries to travel freely to the EU before the end of this year, said MEP Tanja Fajon of Slovenia, who is also a rapporteur for visa liberalisation for western Balkan countries.
Last year, the EU revoked visa requirements for Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro and soon restrictions will be kept only for travellers visiting from Kosovo.
