Damir Masic, an SDP representative in the House of Representatives of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, posted a video from Gracanica in Kosovo, calling for the ratification of an agreement to establish a visa-free regime between Bosnia and Kosovo.

Masic emphasized that Bosnia is the only Western Balkan country without a visa-free regime with Kosovo, blaming this mainly on Milorad Dodik's policies.

“Citizens of North Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, and even Serbia can travel with just their ID cards, but our citizens cannot even travel to Kosovo with a passport. This is another result of Milorad Dodik's destructive policies, blocking the implementation of the freedom of movement agreement in the Western Balkans,” said Masic.

The agreement was signed two years ago in Berlin by Zoran Tegeltija of the SNSD, Masic pointed out, but Zeljka Cvijanovic, also from SNSD, has prevented its ratification on Dodik's instructions.

“The result is that citizens of Bosnia must obtain visas at Kosovo's embassy in Croatia or North Macedonia, complicating the process and increasing costs. Due to these reckless policies, the people of Bosnia are deprived of basic rights like freedom of movement,” added Masic.

Due to Dodik's policies, people cannot visit relatives in Kosovo.

“Dodik claims to represent the Serb people but prevents them from visiting family members or some of the oldest Orthodox monasteries in Kosovo. Because of Dodik, Bosnia's visa-free regime with Schengen countries was delayed by a year,” Masic said.

Masic concluded by calling on Dodik to end his blockade of the visa-free regime.

“Milorad, it's time to stop the so-called ‘Serb advocacy’ for cheap political points that make people suffer. Do something for the citizens of our country. Stop blocking the visa-free regime with Kosovo, and perhaps come to Kosovo and meet these people.”

Unfulfilled promises

In a related article, Deutsche Welle recalls the Berlin Process, noting that previous promises remain unfulfilled.

DW mentioned Aleksandra Tomanic, director of the European Fund for the Balkans. When organizing meetings in Bosnia, Tomanic must consider whether participants from Kosovo can attend, as they must first go to Skopje to get a visa for Bosnia. The same applies to participants from Bosnia wishing to travel to Kosovo.

“Two years ago in Berlin, it was agreed to abolish the visa regime between Bosnia and Kosovo,” Tomanic said.

In November 2022, the prime ministers of six Western Balkan countries—Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia—signed agreements to mutually recognize personal documents, university degrees, and some professional qualifications. However, these agreements have not been fully implemented.