On Monday, the visa-free system of the European Union came into force, which allows citizens of Kosovo to travel across the borderless territory of Europe, reports France Presse.

The new regime, which took effect at midnight, allows Kosovars to travel within the Schengen area without a passport or visa for up to 90 days in a 180-day period.

“This is an important day. A great injustice has been removed and a great right has been won,” Prime Minister Albin Kurti said at Pristina Airport, congratulating the 20 winners of a competition organized by the government as part of a campaign to raise awareness of the new rules.

“It’s a big relief… I feel good,” one of the winners, businessman Rushit Sopi, 48, told AFP before boarding a plane to Vienna.

As the director of a window and door company, he regularly travels to the European Union.

“Each visa cost me 300 euros. When I changed my passport, I realized that EU visas cost me 2,500 euros,” he added.

Kosovo, with a population of 1.8 million, is the last of the six Western Balkan countries to benefit from such a regime.

This former province of Serbia, which declared independence in 2008, sees reform as a key step towards full recognition.

The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, welcomed this “historic decision.” “Kosovo and the EU will have important advantages,” he wrote on X .

They met the conditions in 2018, but several countries objected, including Romania

According to the European Commission, in 2018 Kosovo met all the necessary criteria for a visa-free regime, including border management and migration.

But approval was delayed by France and the Netherlands, concerned about the possibility of new waves of migration, as well as five other EU members (Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Slovakia and Spain).

These five countries do not recognize the independence of Kosovo, which submitted an official application for EU membership in December 2022.

Before the EU abolished the visa regime for Kosovo, holders of Kosovar passports could only travel to 14 countries without a visa.

In recent months, the government in Pristina has been conducting an information campaign so that the population does not abuse the freedom to travel when looking for a job in the EU.