Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting in Brussels on 8 November 2010 gave its unanimous vote on visa liberalisation for Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina. This decision, which amends regulation Nº 539/2001, will grant citizens of Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina possessing biometric passports the right to travel to and throughout the Schengen area without a visa.

The visa free regime for Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted by the Council on 8 November 2010 concerns stays of up to 90 days and will enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union, which is expected for mid-December.

Follow-up mechanism to the visa liberalisation process for the Western Balkan countries

The Commission entered a statement to the minutes of the Council meeting on the establishment of a follow-up mechanism to the visa liberalisation process for the Western Balkan countries. This follow-up mechanism concerns the monitoring of the reforms which these countries need to continue to carry out. It also introduces emergency consultation arrangements so that the European Union and its member states can, in cooperation with the authorities of the countries concerned, react in the best possible conditions to any specific difficulties which might arise with flows of persons from the countries of the Western Balkans and states that the Commission may if necessary propose the suspension of visa free travel. The Commission will report back regularly to the Council and the European Parliament.

With this decision Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina join the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Montenegro and Serbia who already joined the visa free regime on 19 December 2009.