EU postpones review necessary of visa-free travel for Ukrainians

The review of the planned emergency mechanism to halt the visa-free regime with Ukraine and Georgia won’t occur until Jan. 18 at the earliest, the official website of the European Parliament reported on Nov. 29. The completion of this review is a necessary step in the process of the EU extending Georgian and Ukrainian citizens visa-free travel. Approval by the European Parliament is also necessary.

Zenon Zawada: This event confirms the latest outrageous deception uttered by Ukrainian president, who made the bold claim in late October that Ukrainians would have visa-free travel to the EU by November. Indeed Poroshenko has now built himself a solid reputation of making outrageous claims, such as a quick end to the anti-terrorist operation, as well as his plans to sell his industrial assets.

As a result, he has little trust among the Ukrainian public, which is being reflected in the strong poll ratings for his leading contender, former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.

As we’ve ever stated since Poroshenko’s bold claim, we don’t believe Ukrainians will gain visa-free travel to the EU anytime soon, or for at least the next year. Two key factors are current isolationist tendencies in the West and competition from Turkey, whose president has been vocal in demanding visa-free travel for his citizens. There are also bureaucratic hurdles, though they aren’t nearly as important.