Spain has not officially recognized Kosovo, yet passport checks at borders show a practical reality: Kosovo documents are being accepted. The Spanish government has not publicly announced this shift, but the Government of Pristina celebrated it on social media. On Saturday afternoon, Besnik Beslimi, Kosovo’s deputy prime minister, described it as good news that Spain now permits Kosovo travel documents to pass through border controls, signaling an easier path for Kosovo citizens at the border.
The situation reveals a paradox in the ties between Spain and the Balkan republic. At the start of the year, as Schengen area openings were implemented, it was decided that Kosovo citizens would be treated more like EU entrants. Beslimi posted a comment on Facebook stating that the European Commission’s Home Affairs Directorate had announced Spain would recognize Kosovo passports, enabling visa-free travel for Kosovars.
DG Home, the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, led the rollout of a Commission agreement approved by the European Parliament in late April 2023. Under this agreement, Spain no longer requires visas for Kosovars.
Obstacle
Even though visa-free movement began on January 1, Spain remains a Schengen destination with lingering questions. Some Kosovo officials celebrated the change on social media as removing an obstacle tied to passport non-recognition. The Kosovo government seconded this sentiment, highlighting improved travel where previously passport recognition posed a challenge for its citizens and diplomats in Europe, including the Kosovo ambassador in Berlin.
Madrid has not offered a public explanation. The Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not commented beyond noting that Spain continues to be among the few EU members that do not formally recognize Kosovo. Inquiries were made to department sources, but an official statement did not materialize. The underlying status remains disputed: Spain, like Greece, Slovakia, Romania, and Cyprus, does not recognize Kosovo as an independent state.
Spain has maintained this position since Kosovo’s war-torn emergence after a brief, contentious 1999 period. Kosovo is still viewed by Madrid as an autonomous province of Serbia, a stance shared by several EU members and echoed in Spain’s official policy.
paradoxical issue
Within this paradox, Prime Minister Albin Kurti, a Social Democrat, has visited Madrid and Granada in the recent past. In November 2022, he attended a meeting chaired by the Socialist International, where Pedro Sánchez met him. On that occasion, Sánchez was joined by a notable Spanish ally: the former NATO Secretary General, Javier Solana. Kosovo’s representation also traveled to Spain as part of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in November 2022, and Kosovo officials attended the October 2023 EU leaders summit in Granada during Spains presidency of the union. Yet official welcomes did not parade with anthems or flags.
There is more: the free movement of Kosovars within Schengen has been celebrated by high-level European figures, including Josep Borrell, Europes top diplomat on foreign and security policy. This moment coincides with a robust Spanish presence in European institutions. In Kosovo, there are reports of a strong cultural and political bond amid the ongoing geopolitical balancing act between NATO, the EU, and Russia, especially in the context of Serbia and broader Balkan stability.
Some sources within Pristina suggest a potential opening for a Kosovo office in Madrid, should diplomacy and a formal embassy establishment progress by years end. For Kosovo officials,getting Spain to recognize travel documents remains a priority within their broader foreign policy goals.
All of this unfolds amid a regional security landscape shaped by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and tense Western-Russian dynamics. Kosovo is often portrayed as a key touchpoint in the Balkans, a zone where the Atlantic Alliance’s influence intersects with Moscow’s aspirations in neighboring Serbia.