(15 Dec 2010) SHOTLIST
1. Wide of Sarajevo bus station
2. Suitcases being loaded onto bus
3. Sign on bus reading: (Bosnian) "Sarajevo to Vienna"
4. Mid of passengers inside bus
5. Close up of passports
6. SOUNDBITE: (Bosnian) Meho Covrak, passenger:
"We are so happy, after all these years of waiting, I want to thank all who were involved in this visa-free travel. We are jubilant, what can I tell you?"
7. Mid of people next to bus
8. SOUNDBITE: (Bosnian) Hajra Covrak, passenger:
"I was so happy this morning, to go and see my daughter, my grandchildren in Austria finally. I think all of us cannot be happier. This made our lives so much easier."
9. Close up of sign on bus reading: "Sarajevo - Dortmund"
10. Bus stewardess checking tickets on bus
11. Passenger on bus holding up passport and smiling
12. Girl hugging family then boarding bus
13. Wide of bus departing
STORYLINE
Hundreds of jubilant Bosnians boarded buses at Sarajevo bus station on Wednesday to make the first journeys to the European Union without requiring a visa.
The EU have abolished the need for Bosnians and Albanians to have a visa when travelling to countries within the European Union.
Buses headed for the Austrian capital Vienna and for Dortmund in Germany departed from Sarajevo early on Wednesday as passengers celebrated the new unrestricted travel.
"We are so happy, after all these years of waiting, I want to thank all who were involved in this visa-free travel," said Meho Covrak who was travelling to visit his family in Austria.
"I think all of us cannot be happier. This made our lives so much easier," added his wife who was looking forward to seeing her grandchildren.
On Tuesday evening, Bosnia organised an open-air party to celebrate the abolishment of visa requirements.
The Bosnian security minister celebrated the waiver, but asked citizens not to abuse the new regime to look for jobs or claim asylum in the EU.
This was a problem faced by the 27-nation bloc after Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro were granted the same status last December.
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