DPA/Belgrade
Visa-free travel in Europe for Serbians, Macedonians and Montenegrins became a reality Saturday, when a group of 50 hand-picked Serbians arrived in Brussels.
The group of prominent individuals “whose work and acts indebted Serbian society”, according to media reports, would continue along the symbolic journey from the city where the EU is based to other European capitals, including Rome, Paris and Berlin.
On November 30, the EU decided to scrap the strict visa regime as of December 19. The move comes 17 years after they were imposed amid the break-up of the former Yugoslavia that featured bloody wars.
The fall of visa barrier was being celebrated in Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro with fireworks and concerts.
“I am so happy I do not have to wait in lines and get piles of papers in order to visit my family in Germany,” retired flight attendant Biljana Mijajlovic from Belgrade told the German Press Agency DPA.
The visa regime forced those who wanted to travel in the EU to present numerous documents, from property lease agreements or ownership papers to proof of citizenship and bank statements.
The humiliation of waiting in lines made many feel like second class citizens.
“Now if I want to see Paris one day I will be able to just hop on the next flight and go, with only my passport and without those long lines,” Zeljko Petrovic, an entrepreneur, told DPA.
Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic symbolically celebrated the lifting of visa regime yesterday by crossing to neighbouring Hungary with only a passport.
“This really works. We fought for this and it took us 20 years, but better late then never,” Jeremic told reporters.
In neighbouring Macedonia, President Djordje Ivanov celebrated the scrapping of the visa regime with a short visit to Bulgaria.
“Finally the barrier between us is gone,” Ivanov said after meeting with his Bulgarian counterpart Georgi Parvanov.
Montenegro airlines and the government are organising a free flight to Rome for 100 students, farmers and pensioners.
Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic said that lifting of visa requirements was “the happiest of news” for the country and would contribute to a new quality of life.
EU officials said the decision to scrap visas for the three former Yugoslav republics was a signal affirming their European future.
All three are aspiring EU members, but only Macedonia has formally attained the status of a candidate. Of the former Yugoslav republics, Slovenia joined the EU in 2004 and Croatia is next in line.
The visa-free regime applies to 25 out of 27 EU countries, as well as Norway, Switzerland and Iceland. Visas are however needed for Britain and Ireland, countries that are not members of the so-called Schengen zone.
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