Ukraine's parliament appeals for visa-free regime with EU

The Ukrainian parliament on Wednesday has adopted an appeal for the European Union (EU) to speed up the process of granting Ukrainian citizens visa-free entry to the Schengen area.

The document was approved by 261 lawmakers with at least 226 votes required, said a statement on the parliament website.

Commenting on the appeal, Ukrainian Parliament Speaker Andriy Parubiy said that Kiev has already fulfilled all the 144 conditions set by the European Union for obtaining the eased travel regime.

"We appeal to the European Parliament and the Council of the EU to adopt without further delay the necessary decisions on granting Ukraine the visa-free regime," Parubiy said.

To meet the key EU's criteria for visa exemption, Ukraine has introduced biometric passports, passed the amendments to the Labor Code, prohibiting all forms of discrimination at the workplace, and carried out a series of anti-corruption measures.

In September, the European Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee approved a resolution to waive visa requirements for Ukrainian citizens, who have biometric passports.

To take effect, the visa-free travel with Ukraine would have to be endorsed by the entire European Parliament and the Council of the EU.

The next plenary session of the European Parliament is scheduled for next week. Endit