On Thursday, Kosovo is expected to receive a recommendation for visa liberalisation from the European Commission. The news will be announced by the European Commissioner for Migration Dimitris Avramopoulos, who will be visiting Kosovo. Visa liberalisation was conditioned by fullfilling two outstanding requirements: the ratification of the border demarcation agreement with Montenegro and a strenghtened track record in the fight against crime and corruption. Kosovo’s Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj expects the European Parliament to confirm Commissions recommendation on 29 or 30 August.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said if the regional customs union is to be realised, there needs to be a strong support for its creation. The union, proposed by Vučić, would comprise the 18 million market, which, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), generates an annual GDP of over $240bn (data for 2016). The union would cover Serbia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia and Kosovo, as well as Moldova.