Question of the Week: Ukraine has scrapped visas for EU citizens. How should the EU respond?

Date: 17/03/05

KALMAN Mizei is the United Nations Development Programme's regional director, responsible for Europe and the Confederation of Independent States. We asked him: Ukraine has scrapped visas for EU citizens. How should the EU respond?

Mizei: Reducing dramatically the visa requirements is going to be very important so that the Ukrainians as a nation feel that they are European and that they are welcome.

I don't talk about abolishing the visa requirement - that can come a bit later - but a much more simplified, fast and less harassing visa regime for Ukraine is important.

It is very important that visas should not cost too much because the Ukrainians are relatively poor. At the same time it is, in a sense, a modern middle class society where people do travel. It is not a poor backward country where people don't want to travel. They would like to travel and therefore visas should not be prohibitively expensive.

The more that Ukrainians are exposed to Europe and are free to go there when they want - of course the law-abiding citizens - the more Ukraine as a country will feel welcomed by Europe. Cultural exposure for the Ukrainians is extremely important.

It is a large nation which was a core part of the Soviet Union. They don't want anymore to be culturally like Soviets. At the same time such gestures, as I know perfectly as a Hungarian, such gestures are extremely important, just like for us it used to be. It is very important this kind of people-to-people integration.

Question answered by Kalman Mizei, the United Nations Development Programme's regional director, responsible for Europe and the Confederation of Independent States.

• Primary Source

EEAS: Countries: Ukraine http://www.eeas.europa.eu/ukraine/index_en.htm

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