Kosovo’s Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, announced on Monday that as of  January 1, Kosovo will unilaterally allow free movement for holders of identification cards from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

During his speech at the Berlin Process Summit, Kurti emphasised that Kosovo is making this decision despite Bosnia and Herzegovina’s refusal to ratify the agreement allowing citizens of Kosovo to travel solely with identification cards within Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“While the Republika Srpska entity refuses the ratification of the mobility agreement for free movement with ID, that my country was the first in the region to ratify in the Parliament, I have decided to end the wait. Starting on January 1st next year, Republic of Kosova will unilaterally allow free movement for ID holders of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Kurti wrote on the social media platform ‘X.’

Despite the agreement  between the two countries, which was signed in November 2022 as part of the Berlin Process, neither Bosnians nor Kosovars have been able to travel freely between Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina. This limitation is because the agreement has not received support from all ethnic groups in the Bosnian Presidency and has effectively been blocked by Republika Srpska, led by the US-sanctioned Milorad Dodik.

The German-led initiative aims to facilitate regional cooperation among the six Western Balkans countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia, collectively known as the WB6.

The agreement, which generated significant public interest, was ratified by the Kosovo government in February 2023. 

In response to a call from German politician Viola von Cramon to unblock the ratification, Dodik referred to alleged difficulties and restrictions faced by the Serbian minority in Kosovo.

To travel from Kosovo to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo citizens are required to obtain a visa, which is only issued in exceptional cases and requires the approval of the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and applications must be submitted in regional countries’ embassies.

Besides Serbia, Bosnia is the only former Yugoslav country that does not recognize Kosovo as an independent state, although it has recognized Kosovo passports since 2012.