15 February 2008 Podgorica_ Negotiations on visa liberalisation between Montenegro and the European Union will start on February 21, according to Montenegro’s Minister of the Interior, Jusuf Kalamperovic.

In an interview carried by the Podgorica daily, Republika, on Friday, Kalamperovic said he expected the visa regime with the EU to be fully liberalized by the end of the year.
“The government expects Montenegro to be the first Balkan state that will liberalize its visa regime with the EU, despite the fact that Serbia was the first to start the negotiations. We’ll do our best to achieve this, but it is not all up to Montenegro,” Kalamperovic said.

The talks will begin when the EU Commissioner for Justice, Franco Frattini visits, Podgorica next week.

An agreement on visa facilitation, signed with the EU in September, came into force on January 1.
It has eased visa requirements for a range of travellers, including business executives, academics and students who wish to visit the EU’s Schengen group of countries – a zone within which border controls have been abolished.