Der Prozess der Vereinfachung der Visa-Regelung zwischen Russland und der EU ausgesetzt werden könnten

The process of simplification of visa regime between Russia and the European Union may be suspended, – informs the agency “RIA Novosti”.

According to data presented in the document “On simplification and liberalization of the visa regime” prepared by experts from Russia and the EU, the disagreements about service passports may cause the delay.

“It is regrettable that the process of the new agreement on visa facilitation between the EU and Russia from 2007 to the present is blocked because of different views on the issue of official passports,” – quotes the agency the report of experts.

The dispute is based on the fact that the Russian side insisted on providing a visa-free access to Russian official passport holders, while the European Union pointed out that the simplification of the visa regime should first promote the development of cultural, business and scientific ties between the countries.

“Honest travelers with a good visa history going to the EU Member States or in Russia for private purposes (for example, visiting friends or tourism) should be able to benefit of from the simplified visa regime, even if they do not belong to any of the privileged categories,” – cites the agency another quotation from the report.

Earlier the Russian representative in the EU, Vladimir Chyzhov named one of the probable dates of abolition of short-term visas as the end of the year.

“Between Russia and the EU there is a document entitled “Joint steps in the transition to a visa-free regime”, these steps are currently performed almost for three-quarters, and there are real prospects of completing the work by the end of this year,” – said Chyzhov in the interview with radio station “Voice of Russia”.