Kosovars have spent 89 million euros to secure tourist visas towards EU countries, as there is still no visa free movement for youngest European state. 

Ten years after the start of the visa dialogue and four years since the implementation of the standards, Kosovo is still waiting for a visa-free regime with the EU, however, there are positive signals from the EU to complete the delayed liberalization process for Kosovo and the following weeks are crucial. 

With a positive decision on October 13, 2022, at the meeting of the Visa Working Group of the European Commission, visa liberalization for Kosovo would enter the formal approval process, which could take several months. 

According to a communique from Balkan's Group, Kosovo has continued to make additional progress in the fight against organized crime and corruption, enough to convince skeptical member states. 

"13.4% increase in police raids in 2021 compared to 2020; 75% increase in fighting organized crime groups; 85% increase in indictments for economic crimes and corruption compared to a year ago; creation of a new tracking mechanism for cases of high-level corruption and organized crime. The number of targeted cases has increased from 31 in 2016 to 82 in 2022; Kosovo is ranked first in the Western Balkans by the World Justice Report on the Rule of Law; Improving its position in the Index of Transparency International with 17 countries/ and the second place with the best points in the Western Balkans; 726 new cases were initiated with 792 arrested persons and 541 indictments against 738 suspected persons in the field of drug prevention and combat. Moreover, the number of asylum seekers has decreased from 4,720 in 2018 to 2,345 in 2021, which is another indicator of success. The visa regime has cost the citizens and the economy of Kosovo a lot. From 2016 to 2021, the embassies of Schengen countries have received 539,344 applications. Calculating the smallest possible average, Kosovars have paid around 89 million EUR for tourist visas to travel to EU countries. This figure is extremely high for a country with an annual GDP of $4,986 per capita (2021) and an average salary of €484 (2021). However, the EU and its members are the biggest donor to Kosovo. It is worth noting that Kosovo will benefit from EUR 63.96 million from the funds of IPA III (2021-227)", the communiqué states. 

According to the Group for the Balkans, the visa regime has made it impossible for Kosovar companies to have equal access to European markets with their neighbors.