Volodymyr Ohryzko, Ukraine’s First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, has mixed impressions from the visa situation that has arisen between Ukraine and the European Union. He said this at a media briefing in response to two questions from The Day: Can the ministry somehow influence the inadequate attitude of some EU countries’ embassies towards Ukrainian citizens, and will the new agreement on the simplified visa procedure really make things easier for our citizens?
“On the one hand,” Ohryzko noted, “the monitoring conducted by our ministry has shown that there are many cases of inadequate requirements issued to Ukrainian citizens, and we informed our colleagues in the European Union countries about that in no uncertain terms. On the other hand, Ukraine has achieved considerable progress in the visa area, having recently signed an agreement on simplifying the visa procedures and readmission.”
The first deputy foreign minister added: “At this stage the contents of the agreement are not at all bad for Ukrainian citizens. The main problem is for us, together with the EU countries, to implement this agreement as soon as possible. If this agreement becomes valid, we will have a very different visa procedure for our citizens,” Ohryzko said, reminding the assembled journalists that the simplification of the procedure will affect many Ukrainian citizens. “It is very important for all the documents accepted by the embassies of Schengen-area countries to be uniform. By this I mean that there won’t be a situation where one embassy demands 5 documents, a second asks for 12, and the third needs 18. The terms of issuing visas will be specified clearly: up to 10 days maximum, 2 days on the fast track. In the event of refusal, a citizen has the right to obtain a clear explanation of the reasons for the refusal with the further possibility of appealing the embassy’s decision.”
Ohryzko thinks that all the above-mentioned points are introducing positive factors into the visa situation. He is convinced that the most important problem is to finalize the process as soon as possible. At the same time he confessed that Ukraine’s goal is to switch to a visa-free regime in its relations with the European Union. “We are no less European than the German, French, Austrian, Polish, and other nations, and have the same right to travel freely, which corresponds to all international regulations and laws. That is why our next step will be to further decrease the visa pressure, and in the mid-term perspective - to effect the complete lifting of the visa barrier between Ukraine and EU countries. This will not be an easy job. I don’t think it can be done in a year,” he emphasized.
Describing the current situation of issuing visas to Ukrainian citizens, Ohryzko assured his listeners that the foreign ministry has the situation under control. According to him, consular officials are conducting negotiations with embassy representatives, and in many cases they are succeeding in changing the opinions of foreign consular officials. “We are proceeding from the assumption that only this way can we solve some problems before December,” said the first deputy minister. In view of the fact that Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and Romania are joining the Schengen area on Jan. 1, 2008, the ministry is working on separate treaties that would truly ease visa procedures for our citizens. Separate agreements with these countries on border traffic are also being worked out, Ohryzko said.
In response to The Day’s request to comment on the comment by Jose Manuel Barroso, the head of the European Commission, who said that Ukraine, like Turkey, will not be able to join the European Union in the nearest future, Ohryzko said: “The main problem lies is in what we want to achieve. Ukraine has to satisfy the Copenhagen criteria as soon as possible. The sooner we’ll be ready to join the European Union, the sooner we join it. The aim of the new agreement is to create the conditions that will enable us to meet the standards of the European Union. After that, joining the EU will just be a technical problem. That is why we appreciate the European Parliament adopting a resolution like that. We are glad that the members of the European Parliament clearly see Ukraine’s European perspective. Now it is our turn. We have to approach that line as soon as possible. Of course, it is important for Ukraine to receive a signal from Europe, because if Ukraine becomes an associated member of the EU, it will receive new opportunities to acquire full membership. Such a situation will produce additional financing and corresponding programs that will stimulate the transformation of our legislation according to European standards, and so on.”
He added: “We have to be pragmatic and must realize clearly that the European perspective is a top priority for us. We will not turn away from this path but will arrive at the Copenhagen criteria step by step. Once we meet them, the rest of the problems are just technical.”
Ohryzko refused to comment on the statement of Russian admiral Ihor Kasatonov, who said in an interview in the newspaper Novye Izvestiia: “The Black Sea Fleet will remain in Sevastopil for as long as this is necessary for Russia.” The Ukrainian diplomat said that this is an “old” question. He reminded his listeners that earlier it was stated both on the government and ministerial levels that the Russian Black Sea Fleet will be stationed in Ukraine within the time frames specified by the agreements on its temporary stationing in Ukraine. “This means that in May 2017 the Black Sea Fleet has to be withdrawn from Ukrainian territory,” Ohryzko emphasized.
