Sofia has imposed a visa regime on citizens of Ukraine, Russia, and Georgia as from October 1. From now on, Ukrainians will be able to travel visa-free only to the former Soviet states (except for Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Turkmenistan), Poland, Rumania, and Hungary. The latter three will also, sooner or later, opt for a visa curtain in the hopes of joining the European Union visa-free zone. Bulgarian spokespersons claim that visas for Ukrainians are being introduced to bring its law into line with the EU legislation. Observing the principle of parity, Ukraine is imposing a reciprocal visa regime on the citizens of Bulgaria. The great question is who stands to gain more from this new wrinkle.
Undoubtedly, the citizens of both countries will be hurt. Obviously, Bulgarians will have to tighten their belts still harder and brace themselves for dwindling tourism revenues. Post- Soviet tourists constituted if not the greatest then at least far from the smallest share of Bulgarian resort guests. Last year, Bulgaria was visited by almost 60,000 tourists from Ukraine. Approximately the same estimated number of Ukrainians have gone to Bulgaria this year. As a whole, tourist revenues in Bulgaria are rocketing at breathtaking speed: only $800 million the year before last, they have jumped to $1.2 billion last year. You need not be a Ph.D. mathematician to assess that now that visas have been introduced the number of post-Soviet tourists will not exactly grow. Sofia is unlikely to reconcile itself to the fact that its Golden Sands will now be visited by West Europeans only (incidentally, apart from the Germans, whose companies have invested quite heavily in the Bulgarian tourist business, not so many West European tourists go to there).
As to Ukrainians, $53, the cost of a visa originally proposed by the Bulgarian side, can make a gaping hole in the family pocketbook. As Aleksandra Dobreva, second secretary at the Bulgarian Embassy told the press club of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, an urgent visa will cost $68. While the latter may be received in 3- 4 days, an ordinary one will be issued in 6-7 days. To apply for a visa, one must submit a foreign-travel passport, and an invitation or tourist voucher to the Bulgarian consulate.
The Ukrainian-Bulgarian visa saga has been going on for at least a year. Always hesitating, Sofia would time and again declare its intent to impose visas on Ukrainian citizens and then decide to wait. It all began last year, when Bulgaria denounced the visa-free travel agreement signed by the People’s Republic of Bulgaria and the USSR back in 1978. Last April the Bulgarian government decided to extend the validity of the old agreement until October 1 because of the tourist season. Certain efforts by the Ukrainian side, which initially inspired hope, collapsed. For example, during the Ukrainian president’s latest visit to Sofia early last month, both parties finally signed an agreement on readmission whereby illegal migrants are subject to deportation to the country they came from. But this did not help. It should be noted that the Bulgarian side also has no serious reasons for imposing a visa regime. Until now, the problem of illegal immigration does not seem to have been on the agenda of Ukrainian-Bulgarian relations. Nor does the Bulgarian press often mention any Ukrainian criminal element (as was the case in the Czech Republic and Slovakia before they imposed a visa regime on Ukraine). Nor are there any visible signs that Bulgaria was too much of an attraction for Ukrainian job-seekers.
Thus we can surmise that the only reason why Bulgaria resorted to this action was to show EU governing bodies its aspiration for membership. For Bulgaria, with its current economic achievements, could worm its way into the EU well before Ukraine does. In real time, Ukraine can only dream of this. If this is the case, the Bulgarian demonstrative initiative to please Brussels will hardly bring any real dividends. The more so that Sofia had an opportunity to learn the lesson of Slovakia which suggested moderation of the visa regime for Ukraine after assessing the results of the first tourist season following its visa reguirement.
The latest reports say Bulgaria’s Council of Ministers decided to somewhat mitigate the future visa rules for Ukrainians and Russians. Among other things, it is proposed to set the price of a visa at $20. Will this save Bulgaria? Incidentally, Ukraine is imposing in reciprocity a visa regime on Bulgarian citizens. Viktor Kyryk, director of the consular department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, said that Kyiv was open to a compromise, and, should the Bulgarian side suggest simplifying the visa regulations, Ukraine will consider these proposals.
Incidentally, Ukrainian independent experts entertain a popular idea that the principle of parity in visa matters very often runs counter to Ukraine’s national interests.
