Progress being made on Kosovo visa liberalization: European Council president

BELGRADE, Serbia

European Council President Charles Michel on Monday said the EU will give an update on Kosovo's visa liberalization.

"We will give more information on Tuesday, but I can tell you that progress is being made," Michel told a joint press conference with Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob in the country's capital Ljubljana, ahead of the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Albania's capital Tirana on Tuesday.

"We can see that important steps forward were made recently. Tomorrow we would like to have a joint declaration that will bring the Western Balkans even closer to the European Union," he added.

Kosovo is among a handful of countries in Europe which is outside the EU’s visa-free regime.

Last week, EU member state ambassadors agreed to greenlight the European Council Presidency talks with the European Parliament on Kosovo’s visa liberalization.

Michel added that the summit will have energy crises, the war in Ukraine and migration crisis on the agenda.

Kosovo, predominantly inhabited by Albanians, broke from Serbia in 1999 and declared independence in 2008. It aspires for EU membership and gain a visa-free regime for the EU zone.

But Serbia has not recognized Kosovo’s independence and sees its former province as a part of its territory.