You're reading: European Commission recommends EU Council sign agreement simplifying issuing of visas to certain categories of Ukrainians

The European Commission has recommended that the Council the European Union sign an agreement with Ukraine that will amend the visa facilitation agreement extending the categories of Ukrainians falling under the simplified procedure for getting visas.

This decision was taken on Thursday, Interfax-Ukraine learned at the office of EU Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom in Brussels on Friday.

“The EU Council will now take a decision authorizing the signing of this agreement. After signing, the agreement needs to be approved by parliament,” the European Commission said.

The document must be ratified and will enter into force on the first day of the second month after the completion of ratification procedures.

As reported, some European politicians, including Chairman of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee Elmar Brok, called on the European Commission not to sign the agreement on the relaxation of visa requirements for Ukrainians before the upcoming elections to the Verkhovna Rada.

At the same time, the European Commission’s spokesperson for home affairs, Michele Cercone, said that it is impossible to draw “parallels or any connection” between the issue of signing the document and the political situation in Ukraine.