Kosovo residents, most of them Serbs, who have passports issued by Serbia’s Directorate for Kosovo, until now less valuable than standard Serbian passports, will now be able to cross the external border of EU member states without visas, the Council of the European Union decided on Monday.

“Today, the Council adopted a regulation ensuring that the whole Western Balkan region is subject to the same visa regime, by removing the exclusion previously applied to holders of Serbian passports issued by the Serbian Coordination Directorate”, the EU body said. The regulation will enter into force 20 days after the decision is published in the EU Official Journal.

Based on data BIRN obtained from Serbia’s Interior Ministry, in April 2023, 61,296 people had valid passports issued by the Coordination Directorate.

Citizens of Kosovo have been travel visa free through the passport-free Schengen zone since January, but this did not apply to those with passports issued by Serbia’s Directorate for Kosovo.

Kosovo’s government expressed disappointment over the new decision on Monday.

“Any European Commission decision cannot undo the fact that those passports continue to remain illegal, in full violation of our country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, and consequently are unacceptable for the Republic of Kosovo. Those passports continue to be unrecognised by our authorities,” Klisman Kadiu, an advisor to Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi, told BIRN.

Kadiu said that since Kosovo was granted a visa-free regime early this year, there had been “a significant and tangible increase in Serbian community members who were and are being equipped with Kosovo documents … This decision harms our continuous efforts for the integration of the Serbian community in Kosovo.’

In November 2023, months after the European Parliament voted to scrap visa requirements for Kosovo citizens, the European Commission proposed a change in the visa liberalisation rules for Serbia to include holders of passports issued by the Directorate.

Kosovo’s government objected, arguing that to recognise documents issued by Serbia-run “parallel” institutions would be a violation of Kosovo’s sovereignty and discourage the Serbian community’s integration.

But 16 NGOs representing the Serbian community in Kosovo welcomed the proposal, saying it would “greatly improve the lives of Kosovo Serbs”.

Serbia lost control over its former province in 1999 after an 11-week NATO air war. But it continued to operate a parallel state system, with police departments, courts and municipal offices relocated to other towns in Serbia proper.

These offices also issued passports for Serbs living in Kosovo. But in September 2009, as part of reforms required for Serbia to obtain visa-free travel in the EU, Serbia signed a protocol with the EU’s rule of law mission in Kosovo, EULEX, under which Belgrade created a new body to issue passport for Kosovo Serbs.

These passports were not covered by the Schengen visa waiver. Under a subsequent Serbian regulation, they are also issued only in Belgrade, unlike normal Serbian passports, which citizens can apply for and receive at their nearest police station.