Europe without Barriers

[/en/] About Us Europe without barriers Donors and Partners Ideology of the Initiative Contacts Photo gallery Activity News Announcements Main information/Analitics Interviews Our Publications Forum Multimedia Announcements 08-06-2011 Briefing:«The outcomes of the first half year implementation of the Action Plan on Visa Liberalisation - non-governmental assessment» June 15, 2011, 10:00, the briefing «The outcomes of the first half year implementation of the Action Plan on Visa Liberalisation - non-governmental assessment» will be held at the news agency "Ukrinform". Address: 8/16, B. Khmelnytsky str. All Announcements News 09-06-2011 The Netherlands Postponed The 2012 Accession of Romania and Bulgaria to The Schengen Area. The Dutch government will issue in 2012 on applications of Romania and Bulgaria’s accession to the Schengen area, after a trial period, the Immigration Minister announced Thursday, Gerd Leers, quoted by AFP. 08-06-2011 Croatia to complete EU entry talks in two weeks The Hungarian EU presidency expects to wrap up Croatia's EU entry talks in the next two weeks after closing a chapter on fisheries on Monday (6 June). 02-06-2011 Russia and the EU agree on five-year visas Russia and the European Union have reached an agreement on long-term visas, for up to five years, a Foreign Ministry official said on Wednesday. 27-05-2011 The visa application centre of Federal Republic of Germany was opened in Lviv The visa application centre of the Federal Republic of Germany was opened in Lviv. It was discussed during the meeting between the Head of Lviv Regional State Administration Mykhailo Tsymbalyuk and H.E. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Germany to Ukraine, Hans-Jurgen Heimsoeth - informs the LOSA. 25-05-2011 PASOS-LGI will conduct the visa-free seminar in Brussels (May 26) A PASOS-LGI seminar scheduled for 26 May in Brussels will consider the prospects for visa-free relations for three of the countries covered by the No Visa project. 24-05-2011 Will Ukraine and India abolish visa requirements for diplomats? Draft Agreement between the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the Government of India on abolishing visa requirements for persons who enjoy diplomatic passports was discussed at the Ukrainian-Indian consultations on consular and legal issues that occurred in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. 18-05-2011 Brussels gives OK to Swedish customs checks Contrary to the Danish government's claims that Sweden already has customs checks in place of the sort it intends to, the EU commission points out that those are not systematic and therefore legal. Copenhagen is willing to meet with Brussels officials to bring its plans in line with EU law. 16-05-2011 Barroso to Copenhagen: border checks are illegal One day after Berlin's angry reaction, EU commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso has warned Copenhagen that its decision to reinstate customs checks at borders is illegal under EU rules. The Danish government maintains the contrary. 13-05-2011 Members states reluctant to let Brussels get a look in on border controls EU interior ministers meeting in Brussels to discuss the contentious issue of making it easier to re-institute national border controls have given the cold shoulder to the idea of the European Commission having ultimate control over border decisions. 13-05-2011 Ireland will abolish visas for those Ukrainians who have received British visa earlier. Ireland decided to make an experiment by removing visa requirements for those citizens of Ukraine and another 13 countries who have received British visa earlier. 12-05-2011 Europe tackles 'dark side' of open borders Europe mulled Thursday whether to resurrect internal border checkpoints in case it is overwhelmed by an upsurge of migrants as Denmark defended its sudden decision to restore controls to fight crime. 12-05-2011 Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers – Ukraine presents its priorities Ukraine has just taken over the chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe for the next six months. 11-05-2011 Ukrainians will travel to Macedonia without visas The Republic of Macedonia has introduced a visa-free regime of short-term travel for Ukrainian citizens for the period from May 10 to October 31, 2011. 10-05-2011 Ukraine and the EU agree on further facilitation of visa regime Ukraine and the EU have begun talks on further facilitation of visa regime. On May 6,the Director of the consular service of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andriy Olefirov told Ukrainian journalists about it. "We started negotiations on amendments to the agreement between Ukraine and EU on of visa regime facilitation," he said. 06-05-2011 Ukraine attacks Europol over organised crime report Ukraine's ambassador to the EU has said a major police report was wrong in concluding that visa-free travel could help organised crime gangs to operate inside the union. Writing in a brief note emailed to press on Thursday (5 May), Kostiantyn Yelisieiev said the study, put out by Europol one day earlier, "undermines the impartial and objective nature" of the joint police body in The Hague.  All News Main information/Analitics 06-06-2011 KyivPost:«Mission impossible?»A visa liberalisation view from within the EU With the Action Plan on Visa Liberalisation, travelling to the European Union without visas seems closer than ever. However, the set of reforms to be implemented by Ukraine to achieve the visa-free regime is very demanding. The key question is whether it will be enough for Ukraine to implement the reforms to get no more visas. Will the EU really base its decision on the fulfulliment of the reforms? This article was written for the Kyiv Post newspaper by Raul Hernandez i Sagrera 01-06-2011 The Concept of the State Migration Policy has been approved by the President of Ukraine The President of Ukraine approved the Concept of the State Migration Policy. The Decree of the President # 622/2011 was signed on May 30. It was also published on the official website of the President of Ukraine. 24-05-2011 Ukrainians were removing visa barriers within the Day of Europe in Ukraine Within the celebration of Day of Europe in Ukraine, public initiative “Europe without Barriers” conducted public debates and public action “Removing visa barriers together! Europe is our home!”supported by the International Renaissance Foundation. The Head of EU Delegation to Ukraine Jose Manuel Pinto Teixeira, the Director of the EU Department of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Vasyl Filipchuk, the Member of European Parliament Paweł Zalewski, ambassadors and representatives of the EU embassies, Ukrainian experts and analysts participated in public debates. 10-05-2011 Communication on Migration: the European Commissions answer on future situation of the Schengen zone It took almost two months since when the Italian island Lampedusa become a place of mass pilgrimage of illegal immigrants. Refugees who have fled their homes in Tunisia and other African countries arrived there to find refuge in the EU countries. Italian authorities began to give the permits for illegal migrants from North Africa to travel within the Schengen area, provoking the conflict and debate in the EU member-states. 05-05-2011 Tasks of migration policy of Ukraine in the context of visa dialogue with EU By this research EWB continues the series of experts’ publications on migration issues, which examine the state policy on migration policy in the context of the EU - Ukraine Action Plan on Visa Liberalisation. Olena Malynovska, a renowned expert on migration issues, the author of this study examines the level of preparedness of migration policy in accordance with EU standards. They are basic requirements in achieving the criteria of visa-free state by Ukraine. The research reveals the legislative and institutional aspects of the national migration policy standards, including issues relating to readmission, asylum policy, cooperation with relevant EU agencies and other components of the criteria of visa-free state. 22-04-2011 National Plan on Visa Liberalisation Action Plan implementation has been finally approved by the President of Ukraine. The document has been developed by the Cabinet of Ministers in order to ensure proper implementation of the Action Plan on Visa Liberalisation granted to Ukraine on November 22, 2010. It contains relevant measures, responsible bodies and the deadlines. National plan also stipulates monthly reports to be provided to the government's leadership by the bodies involved. 19-04-2011 Albania's experience to Ukraine: such similar problems! Maybe it is uncomfortable to realise that Ukraine is behind this Adriatic country on European integration issue, but it is an undeniable fact. Since December 2010 Albanian citizens have been travelling to Schengen countries without visas. Without any jealousy we should carefully look at the "visa-free" experience of Albania. It revealed a number of problems, typical for some "young democracies", which, obviously, won’t avoid Ukraine. Thus, problems and challenges facing the countries with weak democratic traditions in the process of visa liberalisation are in the research of Albanian independent analysts Gledis Gjipali and Blerta Hoxha. 12-04-2011 Schengen Zone of Turbulence The last months illustrated an aggravated sense of discord between the overall positive informational background concerning Ukraine-EU visa dialogue, the perspective of visa free regime for Ukrainian citizens and the actual visa practice of EU Consulates. Such practice exists by its own and does not always evolve towards visa liberalization. (This article was written by Oleksandr Sushko for "Dzerkalo Tygnya" newspaper) 02-04-2011 Ukraine: baseline study on visa liberalisation process This study was performed within the international project “Paving the road towards visa-free travel between the Eastern Partnership countries and the EU” under the auspices of the PASOS. 31-03-2011 Ilir Qorri: Report about visa liberalisation experience of Albania EWB continues to present the experience of the Western Balkan countries on the visa liberalisation roadmaps implementation. Here the reforms in the spheres of migration policy and documents security by the Government of Albania have been analysed. The Report on visa liberalisation experience of Albania has been written by Illir Qorri – an Albanian expert on the EU affairs. 28-03-2011 Modern migration processes in Ukraine EWB has already completed the project "Promoting the introduction of visa free regime with the EU: Approaching public policy in the documents’ security and migration policy to the EU standards”, supported by the "European Program" of IRF. The project was aimed to investigate public policy on documents’ security and migration policy and formulate recommendations on how to bring these two areas into compliance with the criteria of visa-free regime with the EU. 23-03-2011 The Visa Liberalisation beginnings in the Western Balkans: From the Thessalonica Summit to liberalisation talks EWB continues to present the experience of the Western Balkan countries in the tasks of the "Road Map" implementation. This time, there are reforms in the spheres of documents security and migration policy that were held by the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina. We suggest you to read about The Visa Liberalisation beginnings in the Western Balkans: From the Thessalonica Summit to liberalisation talks and Visa facilitation regime and it’s weaknesses. 16-03-2011 How Serbia has fulfilled the task on Public Order and Security, Foreign Relations and Fundamental Rights. EWB presents the study «How Serbia has fulfilled the task on Public Order and Security, Foreign Relations and Fundamental Rights» from our new publication «How to achieve visa-free regime with the European Union? The Western Balkan countries experience for Ukraine». 14-03-2011 «How to achieve visa-free regime with the European Union? The Western Balkan countries experience for Ukraine. EWB presents the study from our new publication «How to achieve visa-free regime with the European Union? The Western Balkan countries experience for Ukraine». 09-03-2011 Eastern neighbors join the race for visa-free travel to the EU EWB publishes the policy brief made by Dr. Marija Risteska, founder, Center for Research and Policy Making, Macedonia.This policy brief was written as part of the PASOS project, Paving the Road towards Visa-free Travel between the Eastern Partnership countries and the EU. 04-03-2011 EU - Republic of Moldova Visa Dialogue. Action Plan on Visa Liberalisation (full document) EWB publishes the full text of the Action Plan on Visa Liberalisation presented by the EU on 24 January, 2011, EU officials delivered a copy of an Action Plan to authorities in Chisinau, outlining the full list of criteria Moldova must fulfill in order to gain visa-free status. 09-02-2011 Resolution on establishing the Coordinating Centre for implementation of the EU-Ukraine Action Plan on Visa Liberalisation adopted by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Upon instruction of the President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine by its Resolution of 7 February 2011 # 77 established the Coordinating Centre for implementation of the EU – Ukraine Action Plan on visa liberalisation. 07-02-2011 EU-Ukraine visa liberalisation: An assessment of Ukraine A Visa Liberalisation Action Plan adopted at the recent EU-Ukraine summit is a success for Kyiv, but the hardest task will be meeting the European Union's expectations on democracy, tackling corruption and the rule of law, writes Marta Jaroszewicz from Polish think-tank the Centre for Eastern Studies (OSW) in a February commentary. 03-02-2011 Internet initiative "How will visa-free regime with the EU change your life?" the initiative of the Member of the European Parliament Mr Pawel Zalewski who announced the continuation of the Internet initiative "European choice of Ukraine" on his website. 25-01-2011 Declaration of the Coalition for a European Continent Undivided by Visa Barriers During the meeting in Warsaw on November 26, 2010, 26 non-governmental organizations from European Union and Eastern Partnership countries and Russia launched the Coalition for a European Continent Undivided by Visa Barriers. WE have the honour to inform you that "Europe without Barriers" joined this Coalition. The coalition will undertake joint actions to speed up the process of EU visa liberalization with the countries of the Eastern Partnership (Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia). "Europe without Barriers" publishes full text of the Declaration. 1 2 3 Our Publications 05-05-2011 How to achieve visa-free regime with the European Union? Western Balkans’ experience for Ukraine. This publication discloses the peculiarities of the visa liberalisation process in the Western Balkan states, which are actual ones for Ukraine. The experience of the Road Maps implementation (2008–2010) by Serbia, Albania and Bosnia-Herzegovina is analyzed.Main attention is concentrated on the issues of documents’ security, migration and border management, public order and fundamental rights. Lessons should be learned by Ukraine and other EaP countries are described. 05-05-2011 Schengen Consulates in Assessments and Ratings. Visa Practices of the EU Member States in Ukraine, 2010 With this publication Europe without Barriers (EWB) summarizes comprehensive data of the large scale field research conducted in the summer 2010 with the support of International Renaissance Foundation. 06-09-2010 Visa-Free Europe for the Eastern Partnership: a Way to Achieve This publication is about the strategy and tactical priorities on the path toward visa-free regime for the countries of the Eastern Partnership (EaP) with the European Union. Assessments and recommendations developed by the expert group disclose available mechanisms and opportunities for further visa liberalisation. The research is aimed for strengthening and further professionalisation of international public impact and lobbying of the freedom of movement in Europe. Famous European think tanks and NGOs such as European Policy Centre (Brussels) and European Stability Initiative (Berlin-Brussels-Istanbul) contributed to this project. 11-04-2010 Expansion and Modernization of the Schengen: Consequences and Perspectives for Ukraine This publication is another contribution of Center for Peace, Conversion and Foreign Policy of Ukraine into its monitoring of visa policy and practice conducted by EU Member States. Previous publications, in particular “Ukrainian View on Visa Policy of the European Union Member States” (2006) and “Ukraine-EU: on the Way to Visa Free Regime” (2007) caused signifcant resonance and were the subject for broad discussions inside expert and public circles. 11-04-2010 Designing a roadmap towards visa free regime between the EU and Ukraine The publication is aimed to summarize Ukraine’s homework needed to be done to achieve visa free regime with the EU. The experience of international campaigns against visa barriers in Europe has been analyzed. Recommendations are provided for the better use of existing mechanisms and opportunities, in particular, the Agreement on the Facilitation of the Issuance of Visas between EU and Ukraine. 11-04-2010 Public Monitoring of the EU Member States’ Visa Issuance Policies and Practices in Ukraine. Analitical Report The publication is about the outcomes of independent monitoring of the visa issuance to the citizens of Ukraine by the EU Member States’ consulates. The monitoring was conducted by the all-Ukrainian consortium of the NGOs and think-tanks under coordination of CPCFPU in 2008. 11-04-2010 Visa Policies of European Union Member States. Monitoring Report The surveys of this Report were carried out towards the end of 2005 in the Consulates of some EU Member States – in Kyiv, Chisinau, Minsk and Moscow. We surveyed the visa systems of Belgium, Finland, France, Lithuania, Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom. The project included interviews with 961 persons who had lodged visa applications, with 85% of the positive response ratio. 11-04-2010 New Monitoring Report. Changes in Visa Policies of the EU Member States Vis-à-vis Belarus, Moldova, Russia, and Ukraine This Report presents an analysis of the changes that have occurred during the last few years in the visa procedures followed by a selected group of surveyed EU Member State consulates. The report and the analysis of changes in the visa procedures followed are based on the results of two surveys. The first was carried out in 2005, and the second, during the second half of 2008. Main About Us News Announcements Main information/Analitics Interviews Forum Multimedia © 2010 — Europe Without Barriers. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of content, including by framing or similar means, is allowed with the reference to / and "Europe without barriers" only. At support of