Warsaw, 12/10/2011 (Agence Europe) - For its 15th meeting, which took place under the chairmanship of the Polish Presidency, the EU-Russia Permanent Partnership Council, which deals with affairs related to liberty, security and justice, seems to have made progress in the dossier of the visa-free regime between the two partners. According to European Commissioner Cecilia Malmström, “the agreement on visa-free for short stays is one of the most concrete items of progress of this meeting”. The two sides agreed on the need to facilitate the movement of their citizens. “We will do all in our power to achieve this. And we can already do much with the legislation in force”, Cecilia Malmström said, going on to stress the importance of speeding up procedures for students and business people.
Although the intentions are in place, no timetable has so far been decided upon. “These are complicated negotiations, but we are very close to an agreement”, Malmström said. The Polish Justice Minister, Krzysztof Kwiatkowski, showed similar enthusiasm, saying: “We are hoping for results as soon as possible, maybe early next year”. For their part, the Russians referred to the “near future”. The justice minister of the Russian Federation, Aleksander Konowa³ow, said his country was already “ready to set in place this 'visa free' regime, on the principle of reciprocity”.
The ministers also pledged to discuss the prospects of concluding a Russian-Polish border agreement with the region of Kaliningrad. (VW/transl.fl)