Is the EU Pressuring Romania to Recognize Kosovo as Independent State?

It is not only about Romania, but the question remains: is the EU, through the European Commission and other central institutions, pressuring Romania and other European states which haven’t yet done it yet, to recognize Kosovo?

This question appeared after Kosovo passport holders were granted free access to the European space. Following this week, the EU adopted visa-free travel for Kosovo, as announced by the European Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations.

Namely, Visa-free travel for Kosovar passport holders will become a reality on 1 January 2024 at the latest. Following an agreement between the European Parliament and the Council on a proposal by the Commission, passport holders from Kosovo will be allowed to travel to the EU without a visa for a maximum of 90 days in any 180 days.

Currently, five European states do not recognize Kosovo’s independence: Romania, Spain, Greece, Cyprus and Slovakia, despite insane pressures from the European Commission. Will these five countries allow Kosovo passport holders to travel freely within their territory? It seems there will be another round or many more rounds of collision (to be read negotiations) between the European Commission and these five rebel countries.

The outcome of these negotiations depends on many variables – the internal political configuration of each respective country, the concessions within the negotiations, and any other external pressures.

At the beginning of the year, the Kosovo Prime Minister demanded the five to recognize its ‘country’, but with no success.

Will this decision hurry things up toward a unanimous recognition of the Serbian province as a state? Or, on the contrary, Kosovo passport holders will be forbidden to enter Romania and all the other states? Only eight months are remaining, and things will definitely sort out by then.