The Diplomat
Since January 1, Spain has accepted the ordinary passport of Kosovo as valid, after the former Serbian province, which proclaimed itself independent, joined the visa-free regime in the Schengen area on that date so that its citizens can travel. to the 27 member countries of the zone.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed yesterday the acceptance of this passport by Spain, despite the fact that, in April of last year, the European Commission had announced that our country would be the only one in the Schengen area that was not going to apply the agreement.
Sources from the department headed by José Manuel Albares, stated that the decision of the Spanish Government “does not change the position regarding the recognition of Kosovo.” Spain is, along with Greece, Cyprus, Slovakia and Romania, one of the five members of the EU that does not recognize the sovereignty of Kosovo, a territory whose Parliament unilaterally declared its independence in 2008, separating itself from Serbia.
Since January 1, Kosovars can travel visa-free to the Schengen area and the European Union (EU) and is the last country in the Western Balkans to benefit from visa exemption for tourist stays in the countries adhering to the Schengen Treaty of free circulation. This opens up a space of 4.3 million square kilometers and 423 million citizens from 27 European countries (23 members of the European Union and 4 non-EU countries).
The circumstance then occurred that the other countries in the free movement zone that do not recognize the independence of Kosovo, Slovakia and Greece, did admit the ordinary travel documents of Kosovars. In this sense, diplomatic sources indicated to Europa Press in April that the Spanish authorities would have to face changes in their policy regarding documents from Kosovo, after emphasizing that Spain planned to “execute” the measure so that the Kosovo population moves around Europe without need. of visa.
The Ministry thus confirms what was announced late on Saturday by the Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo, Besnik Bislimi, and by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Diaspora of Kosovo, Donika Gërvalla-Schwarz, the latter through a message via from the social network X in which he communicated his gratitude to the Spanish Government.
Regarding the official position on Kosovo, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs insists that Spain will continue not to recognize its independence and has referred to the talks on the normalization of relations between Pristina and Belgrade, under the auspices of the European Union.
The Ministry assures that the Spanish Government will continue to support the dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo “as a way to resolve this issue and seeks to minimize its impact on citizens”, as Minister Albares already explained in November 2022, in a parliamentary response to the Junts deputy Mariona Illamola, in which she insisted on the “non-recognition of the 2008 declaration of independence, because it was a unilateral act.
Albares then also indicated that “from a constructive approach, it is time to make a definitive effort to resolve the issue of the territory of Kosovo within the framework of the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina with an agreement that respects International Law.”
“The position of non-recognition does not imply ceasing to participate, just because Kosovo also does so, in those forums (…) in which all the partners of the European Union and Serbia itself participate,” said Albares, paraphrasing the words of Pedro Sánchez, during the summit held between the EU and the Western Balkans that took place at the beginning of October in Slovenia, and which was attended by the President of the Government.
