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Spain has lifted visa requirements for Kosovar nationals in a bid to strengthen the Balkan nation’s European aspirations and end a period of ambiguity over Madrid’s position.
“On the eve of our 16th anniversary, [our] “After independence, Spain joined the EU member states that recognize Kosovo passports,” Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti said on Facebook on Sunday.
Spain is the largest of the five EU member states yet to recognize Kosovo, a position linked to internal struggles with separatists in Catalonia and the Basque Country. Greece, Romania, Slovakia and Cyprus are similarly opposed, citing secessionist movements within their territories and large ethnic minorities unwilling to be emboldened by the Balkan precedent.
Madrid began implementing an EU-wide decision on visa-free travel to Kosovo on January 1, but the Spanish government said on Monday that it remained steadfast in its opposition to state recognition of the Balkan nation.
“Spain still does not recognize Kosovo, its sovereignty or independence, because it does not recognize the unilateral declaration of independence,” said Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Álvarez.
Álvarez said Spain, like other members of the border-free Schengen area, was “of course” implementing the visa-free travel decision agreed in March. Last spring, the minister added uncertainty about Madrid’s position, saying that Madrid’s failure to recognize it as a state “involves the non-recognition of the Kosovo passport.”
Catalonia’s pro-independence party, with which Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez sealed the deal in November, paving the way for a second full term, is a long-time supporter of the Kosovo state.
But a Spanish government spokesperson denied suggestions that the passport transfer was another concession to Catalan separatists.
An official with the hard-line separatist party Together for Catalonia said his party was “glad for Kosovars” to shelve its own plans to push the passport issue through Spain’s parliament.
The Catalan regional government, led by left-wing separatist Catalan Republicans, said it was “fully consistent with the position of the European institutions regarding the recognition and sovereignty of Kosovo.” Spain is in the opposite position. This is an abnormal situation. ”
Kurti hailed it as a “week of new beginnings”, but recognition from other EU remainers remains far from guaranteed.
Romania, which is not yet a member of the border-free Schengen area, waived visa requirements for Kosovo nationals, insisting that the move “does not jeopardize its status”.
In 1999, Kosovo fought a brief but bloody war with Serbia and unilaterally declared independence in 2008. While the United States and many Western countries have come to recognize Kosovo’s statehood, Serbia, Russia, and China have refused to follow suit.
Non-recognition is seen as one of the key obstacles to resolving the Kosovo issue and eliminating one of the most persistent sources of instability in the Balkans.
Edward P. Joseph, an expert on the Balkans at Johns Hopkins University in the US, said Spain’s decision was “a landmark and heralds further convergence between NATO and the EU on the most important issue of the existence of the Kosovo state.” It is something that we will do.” This is crucial for regional stability. ”
He added: “Until recently, Spanish diplomats would flee the room when Kosovar officials appeared. [The new step] A wide variety of possibilities open up. ”
Kurti highlighted that, in addition to implementing visa liberalization requirements, an agreement was reached with Serbia on Christmas Day to resolve the harmful issue surrounding car license plates. Belgrade has long refused to recognize plates issued in Pristina, but began doing so from January 1.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Sunday it was a “step in the right direction”. [which] This shows that. . . Normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia is possible. ”
After a hiatus of more than 20 years, Kosovo also began registering electricity users for the country’s predominantly Serb population in the north, who had been using electricity generated in Serbia without paying because they rejected Pristina’s regulatory oversight. did.