The European Parliament hopes to complete the liberalization of the visa regime with Ukraine by the end of the year

The process of liberalization of the visa regime between the EU and Ukraine can be completed by the end of the year, said Andrey Plenkovych, the chairman of the parliamentary cooperation committee between Ukraine and the EU, the European Parliament deputy, during the 8th Kyiv Security Forum organized by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Open Ukraine Foundation.

“The liberalization of the visa regime. We have already included this in our parliamentary documents in February. Several times it was repeated in the relevant resolutions of the European Union. I believe this is a good signal that we will see the completion of this process before the end of the year,” – he said.

According to the MEP, this will clearly show the citizens of Ukraine the way the Europe treats them.
“Stable Ukraine, focused on solving its problems, can be a reliable partner which needs our support,” – said A.Plenkovych.

Herewith, he mentioned certain EU reluctance for further enlargement. However, A.Plenkovych believes that Ukraine should continue its movement and its efforts. “The European Commission, Member States, other institutions should respect the key element – your free right, your expression of free will for membership in the European family. And no one can deny this right”.

Commenting on Russian aggression against Ukraine, he stressed that an attempt to annex a part of an independent sovereign state in 2014 “is an absolute violation of all documents and is absolutely not acceptable”: “The EU can not accept such policy”.

He stressed that the EU is trying to help in the implementation of the Minsk agreements. Thus, the political aspirations of the peaceful settlement in the Donbass area should be shared not only by the separatists but also by the Kremlin.

“We understand that there must be a political desire not only in Donetsk and Luhansk, but also in Moscow, as for the appropriate conduction of the process of decentralization, at the same time ensuring the integrity of the Ukrainian territory. And by this I mean the Crimea as well,” – he said.

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The annual international event ‘Kyiv Security Forum’, established by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Open Ukraine Foundation in 2007 is aplatform to discuss the most pressing issues concerning the security in Europe and the Black Sea region. The Forum is aimed at promoting security cooperation between the European Union and the Black Sea Region, raising awareness of the development of security among key players and strengthening the role of independent and non-governmental actors in solving security problems in Europe.