Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council. Fourth report on the implementation by Ukraine of the action plan on visa liberalisation

On 29 October 2008, the EU and Ukraine launched a Visa Dialogue to examine the conditions for visa-free travel to the Schengen zone for citizens of Ukraine. On 22 November 2010, the Commission presented to Ukraine the ‘Action plan on visa liberalisation’. This sets a series of precise benchmarks for Ukraine on four ‘blocks’ of relevant issues, with a view to both the adoption of a legislative, policy and institutional framework (phase 1) and its effective and sustainable implementation (phase 2).

The Commission has regularly reported to the European Parliament and the Council on implementation of the action plan on visa liberalisation. The first progress report on implementation by Ukraine was presented on 16 September 2011. The Commission published its second progress report on 9 February 2012, and the third on 15 November 2013. In that report, the Commission presented a comprehensive and consolidated assessment of the progress made by Ukraine in meeting the first phase benchmarks relating to the establishment of the legislative, policy and institutional framework. It found that Ukraine had made substantial progress in all four blocks of the action plan, but that there were still some important requirements to be met in the field of document security, asylum, anti-corruption and anti-discrimination, and data protection.

The Commission committed to continue to work closely with the Ukrainian authorities to address the outstanding issues identified above. The Commission has had an underlying objective to communicate to the European Parliament and to the Council when all measures required by the first phase of the action plan are adopted.

This Commission report is the fourth and final progress report on the first phase of the visa liberalisation action plan. It explains how the remaining first phase benchmarks have been addressed. It was preceded by a senior officials meeting in Kiev on 26 March 2014, where the Ukrainian authorities presented an update of their efforts to meet the outstanding benchmarks. Since then, Ukraine has provided further information on legislation adopted up to a cut-off date of 23 May.

ESO: Background information: Ukraine moves to 2nd phase of visa liberalisation process http://www.europeansources.info/record/press-release-ukraine-moves-to-2nd-phase-of-visa-liberalisation-process/

EUR-Lex: COM(2014)336: Follow the progress of this report through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2014:336:FIN

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