European Parliament and European Council negotiators agreed to cancel EU visa requirements for Ukrainians during a trialogue meeting in Brussels on Feb. 28.
The deal will now have to be endorsed by the Civil Liberties Committee and the parliament as a whole, before being formally approved by the Council of Ministers, reads an official EU Parliament press release published on Feb. 28.
The European Parliament press service told the Kyiv Post on March 1 that although there are still several procedures ahead, Ukrainians will probably have visa-free travel to the EU by the end of spring.
The schedule for all of the procedures is yet to be finalized, but final approval by the EU’s Council of Ministers is planned for May, the EU Parliament press officer said on March 1.
“We’re convinced that Ukrainian citizens deserve to travel freely immediately to the EU,” Mariya Gabriel, the European People’s Party representative in the trialogue meeting, and its rapporteur, said after the negotiations.
“The time has come for the European Council to deliver results. Ukraine has achieved all the EU criteria requirements and even gone beyond all expectations,” she said.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko quickly hailed the latest development – visa-free travel to the EU for Ukrainians was one of top promises in his 2014 presidential election campaign.
“An important step on the road to a decision that is long-awaited in Ukraine!” Poroshenko tweeted on Feb. 28. “Now it’s time for EU Council and the European Parliament to decide.”
European ambassadors will approve visa-free travel for Ukrainians on March 2, while the second round of approval is likely to happen in May, Rikard Jozwiak, Radio Liberty’s correspondent in Brussels, tweeted on Feb. 28.
In an official European People’s Party press release published on March 1, Gabriel said the visa liberalization process has been a very effective instrument for the implementation of ambitious reforms in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s course to closer ties with EU had a good impact in the domains of security, justice and fundamental freedoms that benefit the Ukrainian citizens in their daily lives, added the lawmaker.
Before granting the visa-free waiver to Ukraine, EU Council approved changes to the visa suspension mechanism and strengthened the visa suspension mechanism on Feb. 27.
The European Parliament press service told the Kyiv Post that the final procedures are formalities, and it is only a matter of time until Ukrainians can enjoy visa-free travel to the EU.
After all the bureaucratic procedures are complete, Ukrainians will be able to travel to Schengen Zone countries under the visa waiver deal struck by the European Parliament and EU Council negotiators on Feb. 28.
“Once the change enters into force, and provided they have biometric passports, (Ukrainians) will be able to enter the EU for up to 90 days in any 180-day-period for business, tourist or family purposes,” the press office said.
