Brussels, 20/04/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 20 April, the European Commission put forward a legislative proposal aimed at allowing Ukrainians with a biometric passport to move around in the Schengen area of free movement without a visa for a maximum period of 90 days.
Announced by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in mid-March (see EUROPE 11514), this proposal is based on the Commission's positive assessment of December 2015, in which it confirms that Ukraine fulfils all the necessary requirements (see EUROPE 11457).
“Today we follow up on our commitment (…) This is the result of the success of the Ukrainian government in achieving far-reaching and difficult reforms in the Justice and Home Affairs area and beyond, impacting on areas such as the rule of law and justice reform”, said European Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship Dimitris Avramopoulos in a press release.
Once the European Parliament and Council of the EU have adopted the proposal, the regime for visa-free movement will be in force for all member states except Ireland and the UK (and four countries associated to the Schengen area - Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland). The proposal does not provide for the right to work in the European Union. Urkainians will also have to prove that they have sufficient means to be able to finance their stay. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)