Kosovo betrayed by EU on visa-free travel, premier says

BRUSSELS – Kosovo’s prime minister says the country feels betrayed by the European Union, which it is aspiring to join one day, because of the bloc’s delays on enacting visa-free travel for its citizens.

Ramush Haradinaj’s comments came in a speech he made in Brussels on Monday at a meeting with senior EU officials.

Kosovo is the only nation in Eastern Europe not allowed visa-free travel to EU member countries.

An EU statement said Kosovo was asked to revoke recent tariffs it set on Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina and stressed the importance of the seven-year long Kosovo-Serbia dialogue it facilitates.

Brussels has told Kosovo and Serbia they must normalize relations as a precondition to EU membership.

Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence is not recognized by Serbia.