EU approves visa-free travel for Ukrainians
The EU Council approved the final resolution to grant Ukraine a visa-free regime, reports RIA Novosti citing the press service of the EU Council.
The EU Council resolution will have to be signed by the President of European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, and the Prime Minister of Malta which currently holds the EU Parliament presidency, Joseph Muscat. The resolution will then be published by the EU Official Journal, and the visa-free regime will enter into force 20 days later.
As stated by the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Volodimir Groysman, Ukrainians will be able to travel to the EU without a visa as of June 11. He compared the visa-free regime to the fall of the Berlin Wall.
The dialogue between the EU and Ukraine on the liberalization of the visa regime began in 2008. Kyiv initially expected to receive visa-free status in the end of 2016, but Europe has repeatedly deferred this issue. In early April, Europe approved the visa liberalization with 521 out of 751 EU deputies voting in favor of visa liberalization.