EU visa-free regime for Ukraine to be proposed in first quarter, Han says

The European Commission is aiming to propose to the EU Council in the first quarter this year to introduce a short-term, visa-free regime for Ukraine, said on Jan. 18 Johannes Hahn, the European enlargement commissioner, as reported by the pravda.com.ua news site. The Ukrainian president and prime minister still have to meet certain requirements, he said. Visa-free travel will be approved by the EU Council and the European Parliament.  

Zenon Zawada: The visa-free regime will inevitably lead to tens of thousands of Ukrainians, at minimum, seeking employment, both legal and illegal, in the Schengen Area. It will serve as much needed relief for the current government since it cool the public’s discontent and allow some of the most active citizens to seek work instead of being involved in politics. The official unemployment rate in Ukraine rose 0.3% to 1.9% in December, or 490,800 individuals, reported the State Statistics Service of Ukraine on Jan. 18. The real unemployment rate is far higher than indicated.

In light of this, the forthcoming visa-free regime serves as more incentive for the current government to avoid early parliamentary elections at all cost. To maintain its power, the current government needs to resist Russian attempts to force divisive issues before the Ukrainian public, such as holding elections in occupied Donbas and creating a special status for the region. Or at least it must conduct these measures in a way that doesn’t provoke outrage and fighting among Ukrainians, which is what the Kremlin is aiming for.