EU Says No Visa Liberalization For Ukraine And Georgia

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – May 8, 2015)

The EU Commission has said neither Georgia nor Ukraine would obtain visa-free travel to the EU’s Schengen zone at the Riga Eastern Partnership Summit later this month.

Speaking in Brussels on May 8 after the EU Commission published its annual visa report on both countries, the spokeswoman for home affairs, Natasha Bertaud, said the commission was “aware” Georgia and Ukraine had expressed a desire for visa-free status at the summit, but this was “very ambitious in terms of timing.”

She said the commission was willing to move forward the next report to the end of 2015 provided progress is made.

The report stated both Ukraine and Georgia need to do more to implement legislation in areas like anticorruption and human-trafficking.

Georgia was urged to do more to tackle the trafficking of drugs, whereas Brussels urged Ukraine to step up laws concerning organized crime and antidiscrimination.

Moldova received visa liberalization in 2014 and remains the only one of the six Eastern Partnership countries to achieve this status.

Article from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – ©2015 RFE/RL, Inc. Article also appeared at rferl.org/content/eu-visa-liberalization-ukraine-georgia/27002254.html