The European Union has prepared an annual report on the fulfillment by visa-free countries of the conditions for its extension. As for Ukraine, they assure that the Ukrainian authorities comply with all necessary conditions.
The press service of the European Commission (EC) writes about it.
They emphasized that their assessment mainly refers to the situation in Ukraine before the start of the full-scale invasion of Russia. But the European Commission believes that even despite the war and the mass departure of Ukrainians to the EU, it is worth continuing to analyze Ukraineʼs compliance with the conditions for visa-free extension.
"In general, Ukraine continues to fulfill the criteria of visa liberalization and takes measures to implement the previous recommendations of the European Commission. However, further progress is needed, in particular in the fight against corruption," the report says.
In particular, the EC gave several recommendations to the Ukrainian authorities. They note that Ukraine should bring its visa policy in line with European rules, in particular, introduce a visa regime for those countries that pose a migration or security threat to the European Union.
In addition, the European Commission urges Ukraine to strengthen the fight against corruption and the independence of anti-corruption organizations. In particular, it is worth completing the current competitions for the positions of heads of NABU [National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine] and ARMA [Asset Recovery and Management Agency].
- On August 15, the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) voted as a whole in favor of draft law No. 7420 on amendments to the Customs Code, which are necessary for concluding a "customs visa waiver" with the European Union. "Customs visa-free" will be the fourth after "energy visa-free" in March and "transport" and "economic" visa-free in the summer.