The decision to abolish Schengen visas for the citizens of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Albania goes into effect on Dec. 15, expanding the visa-free Schengen travel zone to include the entire Western Balkans, apart from Kosovo.

As of Dec. 15, it will be possible to travel visa-free across all of Europe with an Albanian or Bosnian passport, on par with Serbian, Montenegrin and Macedonian passports, holders of which have been able to take advantage of the visa-free regime since December 2009.

The citizens of five Western Balkan countries no longer need visas to visit as tourists the 25 European countries that are part of the Schengen Zone -- which has a population of more than 400 million and which covers around 4.3 million square kilometers -- as well as another four countries that apply Schengen rules.

The EU Council of Ministers voted a month ago to eliminate Schengen travel visas for Bosnian and Albanian citizens, almost a year after visas were abolished for Serbian, Montenegrin and Macedonian citizens.