Translated by Ollie Richardson & Angelina Siard

00:59:32
11/03/2017

ria.ru

The Committee of the European Parliament voted for the cancellation of short-term visas to Ukrainian citizens. The political scientist Denis Denisov on the air of radio Sputnik noted that the decision on the “visa-free” regime involves not what the majority of Ukrainians counted on.

The Committee of the European Parliament on Civil Liberties, Justice and Internal Affairs voted for the cancellation of short-term visas for citizens of Ukraine.

39 European Parliamentarians voted in favor for a visa-free regime, against – four, and one abstained.

Earlier the Council of the European Union gave its consent for the cancellation of the visa regime. Now the European Parliament has to vote on April 5th for this decision.

At the same time the visa-free regime does not assume the automatic obtaining of work permits. In addition, the agreements do not extend to Great Britain and Ireland.

After approval by the European Parliament and EU Council, the chairman of the European Parliament and the Permanent Representation of Malta in the EU has to sign the document. The document will come into force 20 days after the publication in the official programme of the EU.

According to the political scientist Denis Denisov, the decision on the “visa free” regime will not affect the lives of Ukrainians in any way.

“This topic in Ukraine was made into a kind of symbol around which there was and still are many myths. In fact, the “visa-free“ regime is perceived by most of the population of Ukraine as a free opportunity to make earnings to the European Union. But that will not be the case. Thus, according to sociological research that was conducted in Ukraine, less than 3% of citizens are able to afford to go on vacation in the EU. I.e. in fact, this decision does not affect the vast majority of Ukrainians in any way. The myth that was created, imposed, and advertized for many years now turned out to be zero,” said Denis Denisov on the air of radio Sputnik.

He drew attention to one more very important point.

“The European Union first of all adopted a provision on the suspension of the “visa free” regime for such states as Ukraine. This was due to the understanding that a large number of people in Ukraine will have a notorious desire to go and make additional earnings. But after the migratory crisis that the EU suffers, many countries have a question about the expediency of this. And if the EU itself feels threatened by the influx of migrants, then these agreements will be stopped very quickly,” noted the political scientist.

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