THE RIGHT OF MOVEMENT OF KOSOVAR STUDENTS aims to demonstrate the unique obstacles students face when traveling to the Schengen Area and make visible the unnecessary bureaucracy of the visa regime process. Considering the broad influence of migration for educational purposes, especially in a young nation like Kosovo, the stories illustrate discrimination against the right of free movement based on territorial differences. The following short video served as an introduction to a more in-depth analysis of the visa regime process of Kosovo within the Western Balkan region and Europe at the event KOSOVO’S VISA LIBERALIZATION: CAN WE HOPE FOR PROGRESS SOON?, held on the 20th of September. As Kosovo is the only Western Balkan country that requires visas for travel to the Schengen Area, the invited experts delved into the discourse from small-scale to large-scale aspects of the process and analyzed its effects within the Kosovar society. The process has progressed through several steps in recent years but is currently at an impasse at the European Council. Therefore, in light of the highly political nature of the issue, experts had the opportunity to elaborate on the effects of the prolonged visa regime process on regional development, business cooperation, and student exchanges, as well as evaluate the political implications of the process from a European and a Kosovar perspective. As part of the discussion, the issue of the visa restriction between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo was critically reviewed, while emphasizing the complex nature of bilateral relations among the existing initiatives and the slow progress in this regard.
By Qendresa Mejzini
Introduction and presentation of a short film:
QENDRESA MEJZINI, Student, Master of Arts in Applied Human Rights, Vienna University of Applied Arts
Speakers:
DONIKA EMINI, Director, CiviKos, Prishtina
KRISTOF BENDER, Deputy Chairman, European Stability Initiative (ESI) & Europe’s Futures Fellow, Institute for Human Sciences (IWM), Vienna
SAMIR BEHARIĆ, Youth Activist and Research Officer at The Balkan Forum, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Moderation:
MARYLIA HUSHCHA, Researcher at the IIP
Content:
The European Commission confirmed in 2018 that Kosovo had fulfilled all its visa liberalization requirements for its citizens to travel freely across the Schengen Area. Four years later, the country has yet to be granted visa-free travel. To highlight the specific challenges that this overly politicized process poses for many ordinary citizens of Kosovo, this event will combine an expert public discussion with a presentation of a short film titled "The right of movement of Kosovar students."
The film illustrates the journeys that young people in Kosovo face to reach the EU/Schengen Area for educational purposes and the difficulties that they encounter due to the persistence of visa requirements. Since Kosovo's population is one of the youngest in Europe – with nearly 50% under 25 years old and 19% aged 15-24 – the EU’s visa regime affects Kosovo’s young people the most. Kosovo is now the only Western Balkan country that requires a visa to travel to the EU. The film casts a light on the unique obstacles that Kosovar students face, exposing the unnecessary bureaucracy of the current visa regime.
The panel will discuss the broader impacts of the visa regime for Kosovo. In addition to restricting the right to free movement within the Schengen Area, the current visa system has consequences across several other areas as well. For example, business cooperation and regional development in Kosovo have been slower in comparison to the progress of other countries in the Western Balkans. The panel will also discuss the obstacles for visa liberalization within the EU – namely in France and the Netherlands, which have until today blocked the lifting of the visa regime for Kosovar citizens. However, it appears that the political situation in these two countries today might be more favorable, so can we expect that visa-free travel to the Schengen Area might still be granted to Kosovar citizens in 2022? The experts will also look at the visa regime between Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, which has also hindered the free movement of people within the Western Balkan region.