Softening of the Visa Regime for Citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina: What are the Requirements that the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina Needs to Fulfil in Order to Ease the Transfer of Bosnia and Herzegovina from the “Black List” to the “White..
Softening of the Visa Regime for Citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina: What are the Requirements that the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina Needs to Fulfil in Order to Ease the Transfer of Bosnia and Herzegovina from the “Black List” to the “White..

Author(s): Author Not Specified
Subject(s): Diplomatic history, Political history, International relations/trade, Transformation Period (1990 - 2010)
Published by: Centar za Sigurnosne Studije
Keywords: BiH; Visas; Visa regime; government; requirements; Black list; White list;
Summary/Abstract: The current visa system imposed on Bosnia and Herzegovina makes it impossible to establish a stable and open society without free movement of its people flow of information and ideas. The task ahead for government structures is to provide the opportunity for its citizens to travel abroad without restriction and to enable its society to be included in the political, economical and cultural sphere of European life. This research summarizes the insight gained through deep analysis of the situation considered a possibility for softening of the visa regime for all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bosnia and Herzegovina has, todate, been in the so-called Annex I, unpopular "Black List" of the Schengen Agreement which requires the possession of a visa for entering the external borders of the EU. Bearing in mind that the decision for abolishment of a visa regime for certain countries is primarily a political question, there are requirements that the government needs to fulfill to reach the softening of the visa regime for its citizens (transferring from the “black list” to the “white list” or Annex I to Annex II of the visa Schengen Agreement). Considering there is no precise list of conditions or criteria from EU member states required to be met for the visa regime to be liberalized, in accordance with the statements of ex Deputy Foreign Minister, Ms. Lidija Topic and Special Representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the European Commission in Brussels, research began with the examination of the EU Acquis applied in their respectable countries. The EU areas of freedom, justice and security are very complex and constantly under development of all parts of their policies. Free movement of persons is a key element of an "area of freedom, security and justice". Recognizing that principle, the EU at the Maastricht Treaty included asylum policy, the crossing of external borders of the Union and immigration policy among the matters of common interest to Member States, whilst the Amsterdam Treaty incorporated these into the EC Treaty. Therefore, the primarily concerns were to explore the institutional and administrative framework in regards to arrangements within borders, visas, asylum and immigration policies of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Following the Romanian’s path from the Annex I to Annex II and progress made toward inclusion in the “white list” of the Schengen Agreement since January 2002, we can draw some lessons that enable us to create a strategy necessary for Acquis that need to be applied by applicant countries. Alignment with the Schengen Acquis required achievements in the vast field of asylum and migration policy, as well as within home and justice affairs. Alongside internal reforms, Romania was very pro-active in the process of international co-operation with an emphasis on relations and finalisation of agreements with their neighbouring countries. The decision made by EU countries regarding abolishment of the rough visa system for Romania happened during a period when Romania wasn’t able to fulfill all its requirements however, it managed to place policies on the right track and expressed a willingness to implement and further develope its institutional and administrative capacities. Enlargement of the EU with ten new countries additionally complicated the structure in this area and a huge level of effort was put in place to enable integration and extension of the external borders of the EU by the end of 2007. The events of September 11 drastically changed the security situation of the world and additional pressure especially from the USA required a level of the security for documentation growth (e.g. biometrical passports). Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina have made relevant progress in past few years in order to meet the required EU pre-integration standards. In October 2005 Bosnia and Herzegovina was accepted for a Stabilization and Association Agreement with the EU. Constant development of a democratic society and institutional building together with improvement of the security situation in the country, are important issues for liberalization of visa regimes. Bosnia and Herzegovina has succeeded to create and develop sustainable national structures that can provide administrative framework for implementation of the policies within visas, asylum, migration and border areas. Some of the EU conventions related to human rights and fundamental freedoms are already incorporated in the existing Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina or have been acceded through succession together with the other former states of the former Yugoslavia. A study showed that imposing legislation and establishment of proper structures is only a starting point in the desirable direction. Creation of the assumption for a functional and efficient system requires additional effort of the entire governmental structures to be included. So far, implementation of the adapted legislation has not been followed by the institutions in the satisfactory manner. Lack of adequate financial and human resources has imposed many problems regarding implementation of the requested laws in the sector of asylum and migration. In spite of all the progress Bosnia and Herzegovina has made problems do exist, some of which are common to the region and some that are unique to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Arranging and implementing legislation of the Justice and Home Affairs sector of Bosnia and Herzegovina must be one of the priorities for this country in order to move forward to EU integration and to assure citizens freedom of movement. Is there a chance for abolishment of the visa regime for all Bosnia and Herzegovina citizens within the next 2 years? – this was the hypothesis of the research. Mr. Davidi, Deputy Chief of the Delegation of the European Commission in Bosnia and Herzegovina gave an answer to this question and following this research, one could come to the same conclusion which is: “There is still no political will and openness for such a step in the EU which is mainly caused by the slow implementation of reform processes and development of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s democratic society in all segments”.

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