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European parliament supports visa privileged for Ukraine

The Ukrainians who have biometric passports will not need travel visas to stay in the Schengen area countries for the periods shorter than 90 days

BRUSSELS, April 18 (Itar-Tass) – European Parliament on Thursday endorsed a draft agreement on reducing the formalities for the issuance of short-term travel visas to Ukrainian citizens who have biometric passports.

A decision on it was taken by the European Parliament’s deputies at a session in Strasbourg.

The motion proves the European deputies are s eeking to build up contacts between our citizens /i.e. the citizens of Ukraine and those of European countries - Itar-Tass/ in spite of the current problems in relations between Ukraine and the EU, Claude Moraes, who represent London in the European parliament said.

However, the EU would like to see progress in Ukraine in what concerns observance of the rights of lesbians, gays and bisexuals, as well as the implementation of the principles of the supremacy of law and democracy, he said.

The agreement on the reduction of visa issuance formalities is being drafted by the European Commission and the Ukrainian government.

The document says that the Ukrainians who have biometric passports will not need travel visas to stay in the Schengen area countries for the periods shorter than 90 days.

Also, the amendments aim to slash the amount of paperwork related to the visas for representatives of civilian organizations, journalists and participants in international events.

In addition, the new rules relieve certain groups of applicants of a consulate fee of 70 euro.

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