Brussels, 23/05/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 23 May, European Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmström hailed Ukraine's progress towards visa liberalisation, announcing that she would propose to the European Commission that it move on to the second phase. “Ukraine's path towards visa liberalisation is moving ahead. Over the past few months the Ukrainian authorities have made important efforts to put in place the necessary legislative, policy and institutional framework and fulfil the first-phase requirements of our visa dialogue”, she stated in a press release. On the basis of the Commission's analysis, “the legislation passed and other measures adopted are sufficient to consider that Ukraine has been able to meet the first stage benchmarks of the Visa Liberalisation Action Plan”. “I suggest to my colleagues in the Commission that we move to the 2nd phase”, Malmström said. Her spokesperson Michele Cercone, said he was confident that in the coming weeks the Council would support the Commission's conclusions, just before he second round of elections in Ukraine.
Malmström said that the Ukrainian Parliament had adopted numerous measures to address the outstanding issues identified by the Commission. “This is a significant achievement, an important step in the process that will bring the country closer to its goal of visa free regime with the EU. But the hard work is not over. Ukraine will need to demonstrate that all these rules are thoroughly implemented”, she added.
The visa liberalisation action plan is structured around four blocks - document security, (including biometrics); integrated border management, migration management, and asylum; public order and security; and external relations and fundamental rights. The action plan contains two tiers of benchmarks - first phase benchmarks concerning the overall policy framework (legislation and institutions), which are to pave the way for the second phase benchmarks relating to effective and sustainable implementation of the relevant measures.
The EU-Ukraine visa liberalisation dialogue was launched on 29 October 2008 and was presented to the Ukraine on 22 November 2010. (CG)