Armenia-EU visa facilitation deal may come into force early 2014

October 31, 2013 - 19:25 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenian parliament will discuss the Armenia-EU visa regime facilitation at the next meeting, with a document to be further signed by President Serzh Sargsyan, the Armenia-EU interparliamentary committee co-chair said.

As Samvel Farmanyan told a news conference at the National Assembly, he hopes for the agreement to come into force January 1, 2014. "Visa regime facilitation is one of the concrete results of recent years' cooperation between Armenia and EU, testifying to effective work on both sides," he said.

As the parliamentarian noted, close cooperation with the EU is important for Armenia. "A rather intense process is ongoing, aiming to form the interaction agenda and clarify the lines of partnership to continue between Armenia and the EU," Panorama.am quoted Farmanyan as saying.

On November 9, 2013, European Parliament approved the EU-Armenia agreements for visa regime facilitation and readmission. New rules stipulate for acceleration of visa provision terms and decrease of visa fees, as well as shortening the list of documents necessary.

Visa regime facilitation will give a new impetus to cooperation, also boosting the citizens’ mobility, the document says, according to Rosbalt.

The agreements for visa regime facilitation and readmission are envisaged by the EU’s Eastern Partnership program aimed to establish closer partnership with Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus.

On December 17, 2012, the European Union signed a deal with Armenia which will make it easier and cheaper for Armenians to travel to the bloc, its member states announced. The deal, which required the approval of the European Parliament, will make it more straightforward for Armenians to acquire short-term visas to the EU.

The agreement also depends upon both parties signing a so-called readmission agreement, which regulates the return of citizens residing on each other’s territory without the necessary visas or permits.

The agreement was signed in Brussels by Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, EU Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom and Cypriot Foreign Minister Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis.

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