Ukraine parliament approves more visa-free regime bills

Ukraine’s parliament approved on Nov. 12 more legislation to achieve a visa-free regime with the EU, including a non-discrimination clause to the labor code and the creation of State Investigations Bureau, which will focus on crimes committed by organized criminal groups.

Zenon Zawada: We expect the Ukrainian government to meet all the requirements of the EU visa-free regime, eventually. That includes the replacement of prosecutors nominated to the commission to establish the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, which the president and prosecutor general continue to resist.

Ongoing reviews and pressure from EU institutions will be necessary, and the EU should announce in the next week or so whether it approves of parliament’s amendments approved this week – recognized as having weakened the abilities of law enforcement outlined by legislation drafted by the Cabinet.

Another big question on the horizon is whether that will be enough for the EU to establish such a regime in 2016, given that it already faces public discontent with overwhelming numbers of migrants. We share the view that the EU visa-free regime will help the Ukrainian economy by making trade easier.