EU parliament committee approves Ukraine bid for visa-free travel

The European Parliament’s civic freedoms and internal affairs committee voted on Sept. 26 to include Ukraine in a list of countries with which the EU will introduce a visa-free regime, reported the eurointegration.com.ua news site. The measures drew 38 votes in support and four against. They also rejected amendments that would have undermined visa-free travel for Ukrainians, submitted by Euro-skeptic MPs. The measure could be approved by the European Parliament as early as the first week of October, after which it will be reviewed by the EU Council.  

Zenon Zawada: The current government is working hard to achieve this because it will be an enormous popularity boost. The economy is not imporving and, as unfortunate it might be, the best way to improve prospects is to allow Ukrainians to find opportunities in Europe, whether legally or illegally. Allowing young, skilled people to travel will also eliminate a part of the protest electorate.

As for the prospects of the EU approving visa-free travel, we can’t express the same confidence as Ukrainian and European politicians. We expect opposition in the European Parliament from various forces, with or without Russian backing. And top European officials could hesitate in light of the anti-migrant backlash currently bringing right-wing forces to power.