BELGRADE — After nearly 18 years, the citizens of Serbia, Macedonia, and Montenegro are free to travel to European Union Schengen area countries without visas. A decision by the Council of Ministers of the European Union on November 30 opened the borders on December 19. This long-awaited decision was met with exuberance and some disbelief that it was actually happening.
In May 1992, the former Yugoslavia came under UN sanctions as the country’s breakdown was beginning. Slovenia joined the EU in 2004, Croatian citizens were freed to travel many years ago. This leaves Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, and the inhabitants of Kosovo still on a visa regime. Bosnia and Herzegovina is hoping to access the visa-free regime by July 2010.
All previous post-communist transition countries have shown that the announcement of visa-free travel has been the single most tangible benefit for individuals on the road to full membership to the EU. This was confirmed by the reactions in Romania and Bulgaria in the late 1990s, and now in the three Balkan countries.
At midnight on December 18, many citizens and officials of these countries were at the borders with neighboring Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and Greece to celebrate symbolically by crossing borders during the first minutes of December 19. A plane took off from Belgrade to Brussels at midnight with officials and a group of citizens who had never travelled abroad. There were meetings in Brussels on December 19 with EU officials to mark this significant next step on the road to Europe.
One cannot overstate the importance of this reacquired freedom to travel. This is a clear message coming from the European Union to the citizens of these three countries: the doors are open for you. Even for those who do not travel, this is a formidably valuable political and psychological signal of support. Serbia, Macedonia, and Montenegro, in addition, have had to fulfill a number of legal requirements — passing laws, rules, and procedures for integrated border management; combating organized crime and trafficking of people; and agreements of readmission with EU countries. These newly introduced laws help strengthen the rule of law for all the citizens of their countries. Finally, the young generations will benefit the most. By growing up in a country disintegrating through conflict and war in the 1990s, they have not been able to see Europe for themselves as their parents did in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Now they can meet their European peers and have greater possibilities for academic and other exchanges.
The Balkans are moving forward to Euroatlantic integration again at a sustained pace. This is underscored by the fact that Serbia today formally submitted its candidacy for membership to the EU in Stockholm, Sweden. In the presence of Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, currently holder of the EU Presidency, and of the outgoing EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn, President Boris Tadic of Serbia reiterated the importance of this historic moment and how crucial it was for all countries of region of the Balkans to be moving toward the same EU membership goal in order for lasting stability and peace to take firmly hold.
In all the Balkan countries that are not yet members, there are no illusions about the difficulty and the “sweat and tears” that still lie ahead on the path of further democratic and market reforms and to the fulfillment of all requirements for EU membership. But they strongly aspire for that additional quantum of certainty, security, and prosperity that a country has by being a full member of the EU rather than staying on the outside.
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