Ambassador Rohde's statement about the visa liberalization date is misinterpreted

The circulation of false information with supposed dates/months of when visa liberalization for Kosovo will take place is still continuing. Such unverified news have been distributed over the years, feeding false hopes among Kosovo citizens regarding the deadlines for the finalization of this process. In an interview given to the show “Info Plus ” on RTK, the German ambassador to Kosovo, Jorn Rohde, was asked, among other things, about visa liberalization. He gave a short but optimistic answer that the visas will be removed. “I would say yes,” he declared.

However, the German ambassador did not say that visa liberalization will happen this year, as claimed in the article published in “Kosova-sot.info” with the title – “German Ambassador: Visa liberalization for Kosovo this year!”.

While, in the content of this news, it is stated that: “Asked if the visa regime will be removed at the beginning of next year, specifically in the months of February or March, Rohde gave a short but positive answer. ‘The shortest answer from the current point of view is, yes,’ he said”.

The same article was published by a number of other Kosovo media.

https://www.kosovari.press/pritjes-i-erdhi-fundi-ambasadori-gjerman-jep-lajmin-e-madh-ja-kur-liberalizohen-vizat-per-kosoven/

https://euronews.al/rajoni/2022/09/23/ambasadori-gjerman-ne-fillim-te-vitit-tjeter-do-te-liberalizohen-vizat-per-kosoven/

https://sinjali.com/ambasadori-gjerman-ne-kosove-jep-lajmin-e-madh-tregon-se-kur-do-te-ndodhe-liberalizimi-i-vizave/

The same medium, Kosova-sot.info , has again continued to publish news with misleading headlines. On September 26, it distributed an article claiming that, “Kosovo can get visas on October 13,” while inside the article they quoted Radio Free Europe which reported that “the issue of visa liberalization for Kosovo will be on the agenda on October 13 for discussion, at the meeting of the working group of the European Council.” The title of this news is misleading/misinforming because it does not match the content.

In 2018, the European Commission concluded that Kosovo has met all the criteria that come out of the roadmap thus proposing the lifting of the visa regime for Kosovo. But the final decision-making, before Kosovo enters the Schengen area, belongs to the Council of Ministers of the EU, which consists of the member countries.

*This article is published as part of the Western Balkans Regional Initiative against disinformation. “Western Balkans Anti-Disinformation Hub: exposing malign influences through watchdog journalism.”