Representatives of the Ukrainian CSOs and think tanks welcome the decision of the European Parliament on approval of the suspension mechanism for third countries’ visa liberalization. We hope that the final approval of this instrument by the Council will unblock and facilitate immediate adoption of the long-awaited decision on granting visa waiver to the citizens of Ukraine.
We call on the Council of the EU and the European Parliament to promptly launch a trialogue on visa liberalization for the citizens of Ukraine, with subsequent long-awaited adoption of the relevant regulation.
We would also like to draw your attention to a new concern we have on the current state of affairs on visa liberalization.
Ukraine has successfully fulfilled all the requirements of the Visa Liberalization Action Plan which has become an effective leverage for advocating Ukrainian reforms. The VLAP made it possible to achieve significant results in the fight against corruption and discrimination, in migration policy and readmission, etc. We are grateful to our European partners for consistent and unfaltering support of the Ukrainian reforms and affirm that immediate granting of the visa waiver will strengthen the confidence of the Ukrainian citizens in the European Union and facilitate further effective advocacy and implementation of key systematic changes.
We welcome the agreed approach of the European Union to monitor sustainability of the reforms achieved under the VLAP, which becomes a precondition of the sustained visa-free regime, according to new provisions of the Regulation 539/2001 (suspension mechanism).
However, we would like to stress that identification of spheres of monitoring in no way should cause any delay in approval of the visa waiver for Ukraine.
We completely rely on the European Commission that will implement this monitoring and expect that key anti-corruption indicators would be among those monitored.
Civil society organizations are ready to assist the Commission with monitoring activities, as well as will continue to take active part in advocacy and implementation of reforms by the time they reach the point of irreversibility.
This appeal is supported by:
Civil society coalition “Reanimation Package of Reforms” (unites 73 CSOs)
European Pravda
Anti-Corruption Action Centre (ANTAC)
Transparency International Ukraine
Institute for Euro-Atlantic Cooperation
Europe without Barriers
Center for Democracy and Rule of Law (CEDEM)
Centre UA
Centre for Economic Strategy
Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting
Center for Political Studies and Analysis “Eidos”
Ukrainian Center for Independent Political Research
Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiative Foundation
Institute of Social and Economic Transformation
LEAD Office
Center for Local Self-Governance
International charity organization “Environment – People – Law”
Lab for Democratic Transformations
Initiative E+
Interns’ League
Plast – National Scout Organization of Ukraine
Rodyna
Ukrainian Science Club
International Renaissance Foundation
Appeal of the civil society organizations of Ukraine to the Council of the EU and the European Parliament concerning visa liberalization – PDF.