The Republic of Belarus and the European Union have signed agreements on facilitating visa procedures and on readmitting the individuals staying without an authorization, BelTA has learned. The ceremony took place in Brussels, Belgium.
The agreements were signed by Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei, Croatian Internal Affairs Minister, Deputy Prime Minister Davor Bozinovic (Croatia presides over the European Council now), and European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson.
Before the documents were signed, Davor Bozinovic reminded that the sides had been negotiating to sign the agreements since 2014. In his words, visa statistics points to strong ties between Belarus and the European Union. In 2018 nearly 700,000 citizens applied for a Schengen visa. The share of multiple-entry visas exceeded 80%. “Belarus is a country with a high number of issued Schengen visas and a low percentage of denials,” he pointed out.
In turn, Vladimir Makei noted that the sides had tried to sign the documents much earlier but they had not managed to accomplish that due to various reasons. Vladimir Makei said he expects the European Union to use all capabilities to temporarily freeze the cost of Schengen visas for Belarusians at €60 until the visa facilitation agreement comes into force.
After the agreements were signed Vladimir Makei met with Secretary General of the European External Action Service Helga Schmid and European Commissioner for Budget and Administration Johannes Hahn. The diplomats discussed the advancement of cooperation in the bilateral format and within the framework of the Eastern Partnership Initiative, the press service of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs told BelTA.
