The European Commission said on Tuesday that it mistakenly asked North Macedonia and Montenegro to issue visas to people from Kosovo and other countries in line with EU policies in a report published on December 5.

European Commission officials at a media conference emphasized that they have not changed their position on liberalization of visas for Kosovo and that they support the free movement of citizens as a priority.

The European Commission said the mistake will be corrected in a new version of the same report.

Kosovo’s ambassador to Brussels, Agron Bajrami, tweeted on Tuesday that the Commission had announced that it will correct the report, which mistakenly implied that Montenegro and North Macedonia should impose visas on Kosovo nationals.

Absolutely unacceptable for @EU_Commission to list Kosovo as one of visa-required third countries asking ?? & ?? to introduce visas for ??!
Especially disturbing as for years Kosovo was unjustly denied #VisaLib! Double so as all this comes after Berlin Process agreements! pic.twitter.com/dJo9rDpoDc

— Agron Bajrami (@AgronBajrami) December 5, 2022

“Absolutely unacceptable for @EU_Commission to list Kosovo as one of visa-required third countries asking North Macedonia & Montenegro to introduce visas for Kosovo! Especially disturbing as for years Kosovo was unjustly denied #VisaLib! Double so as all this comes after Berlin Process agreements!,’ Bajrami wrote on Twitter on Monday.

The European Commission on Tuesday published the fifth report regarding the visa suspension mechanism for Western Balkan countries and the harmonization of their policies with those of the EU.

Among others, Montenegro and North Macedonia are criticized for not taking action to harmonize their visa policy with the list of countries required for EU visas, mentioning Kosovo as well.

“North Macedonia has not taken action in 2021 to further align the country’s visa policy with the EU. Nationals of the following countries, who are visa required for the EU, still enjoy visa free access in North Macedonia: Azerbaijan, Botswana, Cuba, El Salvador, Kosovo, and Turkey,” writes the report.

The report assesses the actions taken in 2021, in migration, asylum, judiciary, public order and security.