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Belarus and EU to ease visa regulations — Belarusian diplomat

Belarus wants the European Union to give up a number of discriminatory conditions for Belarusian visa applicants and set standard requirements

© EPA/GEORG HOCHMUTH

MINSK, May 25 /TASS/. Belarus and the European Union will ease visa regulations after finishing technical formalities, Igor Fisenko, the head of the consular department of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry, said on Monday.

"The negotiations are nearing completion. But we need to agree on some technical aspects. I would not set any concrete deadlines so far," Fisenko told an online news conference titled "Vacation Abroad: How to Avoid Problems?"

According to Fisenko, the facilitation of visa procedures provides for a slight reduction of consular fees and the drawing up of a standard list of documents necessary for obtaining a visa. "The sides may also reach a reciprocal agreement on issuing visas to participants in exchanges and humanitarian contacts free of charge," Fisenko stressed.

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The Belarusian diplomat added that Belarus and the European Union had held three rounds of consultations on draft agreements on facilitation of visa formalities and readmission. Besides, the two sides have prepared a "Partnership for Mobility" declaration designed to strengthen interaction in the migration sphere, Fisenko said.

Belarus wants the European Union to give up a number of discriminatory conditions for Belarusian visa applicants and set standard requirements that are applied to the citizens of other countries member of the Eastern Partnership, the Belarusian diplomat stressed.

Eastern Partnership is a European Union’s multilateral programme designed to develop regional cooperation with six former Soviet republics: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.

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