Ukraine on June 10 geared up for the start of visa-free travel to most EU countries with events and a concert in the capital Kyiv.
In the afternoon, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and the Head of the European Union Delegation to Ukraine Hugues Mingarelli hosted a ceremony launching a symbolic “visa-free timer” on the square in front of the Presidential Administration in Kyiv.
Later, as dusk fell, city authorities threw a concert on Kyiv’s European Square for thousands of Ukrainians to mark the entry into force of the visa-free regime at 12 0’clock midnight on June 11.
President Poroshenko also gave a speech at the concert to congratulate his fellow citizens on the granting by the EU of visa-free travel – a key pledge of his election campaign.
Ukrainians can now travel visa-free to the countries of the Schengen Area, if they have an EU-compliant biometric passport.
While the visa-free regime does not apply to two EU countries – the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland – it does apply to some non-EU counties that are within the Schengen Area, such as Norway and Iceland.
