Ukraine welcomes EU decision to greenlight liberalization of visa regime

Ukraine on Friday welcomed a decision by the European Union (EU) to give a green light to the liberalization of visa regime for Ukrainian citizens after an introduction of a suspension mechanism.

"Once this mechanism, discussions on which are now underway, is approved -- we will move forward on the way towards the visa-free regime," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin told the parliament.

The recent decision of the Council of the EU member states to back the visa liberalization process confirmed that Ukraine has met the requirements for visa exemption, Klimkin said.

"All three key institutions of the EU clearly said that Ukraine meets all the criteria," he emphasized.

On Thursday, the Council of the EU endorsed granting the visa-free entry for Ukrainian citizens when traveling to the Schengen area after an introduction of a mechanism, which allows suspending the eased travel rules in the case of emergency.

The move followed the decision of the European Commission and the European Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee 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, which will hold the plenary session next week.

The suspension mechanism is a special legal tool, which would allow the EU to put on hold the visa-free travel in the case of an influx of migrants from Ukraine. Endit