In January, officials from the Government of Kosovo hovered between celebration and scrutiny as Spain began sharing posts about the news on social networks. The country’s passports for Kosovo citizens entered the public discourse as a notable shift, following a seven month period in which Madrid had not recognized them. Serbian media pressed the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs for confirmation, prompted by a report from El Periódico de Cataluña, part of the Prensa Ibérica group, the same publisher as the newspaper reporting this development. The document referenced by the European Commission’s Office for Migration and Home Affairs confirmed that Spain acknowledged the Kosovo travel documents.
The Serbian official in charge sought an explanation from Spanish diplomacy after the surprise announcement. Sources familiar with the bilateral dynamics indicated that Belgrade received the statements with a level of satisfaction, noting that few allies in Europe hold Spain’s stance on Kosovo but that the country does not recognize Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence from 2008.
Requests for comment to the Serbian Embassy in Spain and Belgrade’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not yield a public statement on the matter.
The People’s Party criticized the decision for lacking transparency, contrasting it with the perceived secrecy around Western Sahara diplomacy to appease Morocco. They urged the Foreign Minister to appear before parliament to clarify whether the move was a concession to coalition partners who favor Kosovo recognition.
Problems in the Schengen area
Spain’s government argued that it cannot act alone within the European Union, pointing out that Slovakia, Greece, Romania, and Cyprus—countries that also do not recognize Kosovo—have taken similar steps. The administration stressed that accepting Kosovo travel procedures is a matter of practicality and does not imply recognition of Kosovo’s independence, a status Serbia continues to contest as a unilateral move.
Insiders suggest the decision helps resolve a tricky issue. What should authorities do if a Kosovo citizen enters the EU’s Schengen zone with a Kosovo passport and then travels to Spain? Detain him? And if so, where would that lead? Technically, the passport lacked validity before the change, and it would hold no value at Spain’s borders, even if it was accepted at other EU frontiers in Germany or France.
Kosovo Driving and Drinking
Following the war between Kosovo and Serbia from 1998 to 1999, Kosovo emerged as an autonomous province under Serbian administration with UN oversight. In 2008, Kosovo declared independence unilaterally. Spain, under the government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, did not recognize the new republic, while major partners including the United States, France, and Germany did. The administrations of Mariano Rajoy and Pedro Sánchez did not alter this stance. Some argued that recognizing Kosovo could set a precedent for movements seeking independence elsewhere in Europe.
By the time of the discussion, 102 of the 193 United Nations member states recognized Kosovo, with the most recent being Israel in 2020.
Albares’ View
The move sparked concerns in opposition circles about linking Kosovo recognition to broader Catalan questions, particularly after the unilateral declaration and the amnesty law covering participants in the 1 October referendum in Catalonia.
The Popular Party called for the foreign minister to testify before Congress. Some members suggested that the change might have been influenced by coalition dynamics rather than a shift in policy, as indicated by documents circulated by a media agency asking to be included in a parliamentary hearing.
The party criticized the government for what it saw as a repeated pattern: changing positions and leaving the public to learn of these shifts through media and social networks, which they argued demonstrated a lack of parliamentary respect.
Spanish Exception
In April 2023, the European Commission announced a visa liberalization agreement for Kosovo, enabling around two million Kosovars to travel to the EU visa-free for short stays up to 90 days within a 180-day period. Kosovo is a candidate for EU membership, and the Commission has confirmed that the country meets the visa-free criteria in the roadmap. Kosovars are the only citizens in the Western Balkans facing visa-free travel limitations in the Schengen area.
The EU later granted an exception to Spain, declaring that Spain would be the only Schengen country not to apply the visa exemption. During a visit to Berlin on April 21, Foreign Minister Albares explained the exception, stating that Spain does not recognize Kosovo’s travel documents and that Kosovars remain unaffected in other contexts; he also noted that Greece and Slovakia do not recognize Kosovo’s sovereignty but do permit related travel documents.
Position Change
What changed since then? “My previous statement described the situation as it existed at the time. Seven months have passed, and Spain must align with other states that do not recognize Kosovo,” the minister told a regional newspaper during an interview last Friday. “That is why we began accepting Kosovo passports.”
The minister framed this as a practical adjustment rather than recognition of Kosovo’s sovereignty, noting that the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina and closer ties with the European Union should not be obstructed. He stressed that the change does not imply a formal recognition and urged the public and opposition parties to consider the broader context of EU relations and regional stability. He also warned against misinformation and asked political rivals to refrain from presenting speculative narratives as facts.