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BARROSO: VISA REFORMS ON TRACK FOR ARMENIA
United Press International UPI
Dec 4 2012
A simplified visa regime between Armenia and the European Union will
be implemented soon, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso
said this weekend.
YEREVAN, Armenia, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- A simplified visa regime between
Armenia and the European Union will be implemented soon, European
Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said last weekend.
Barroso said following a Saturday meeting with Armenian President
Serzh Sargsyan in Yerevan that visa facilitation and readmission
agreements with the European Union would be finalized this month.
They would come into force by mid-2013 in a move designed to strengthen
Armenia's economic ties to Europe even as it remains deadlocked in
a semi-frozen conflict with Azerbaijan.
"After constructive -- and should I say quick -- negotiations, we
will be able to sign the visa facilitation agreement on December
17th, followed at a later date by the signature of the readmission
agreement," Barroso said.
"Our long-term goal is clear and we will work for it -- we want
visa-free travel," the EU leader declared.
Negotiations on the visa liberalization began in February. Under the
facilitation of movement reforms, lower visa fees for all Armenian
citizens would be implemented and waivers would be issued in certain
categories, such as family members and pensioners.
A maximum processing time of 10 calendar days would be instituted,
as well as simplified supporting document requirements and wider
issuances of multiple-entry visas for business travelers.
The new readmission agreement, meanwhile, provides for reciprocal
obligations on both sides to readmit their nationals as well as
certain third-country nationals who are in "irregular situations"
on the territory of the other party.
The European Union last year launched a "mobility partnership" with
Armenia -- a non-legally binding framework for managing movements of
people between the country and 10 EU member states, including Belgium,
Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands,
Poland, Romania and Sweden.
Barroso also said he was optimistic of completing an economic
association agreement, including a "deep and comprehensive free trade"
deal, with Armenia in time for the European Union's November 2013
Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius.
"Once completed, these negotiations will further strengthen Armenia's
European perspective," he asserted.
But the EU leader also cautioned Armenia's decades-old conflict with
Azerbaijan over the disputed ethnic enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh must
be resolved peacefully if it is to take advantage of its deeper ties
with Europe.
"We believe that only through a stable neighborhood and good relations
amongst the countries in the region will be possible for Armenia to
fully tap the potential of the country and also of its association
agenda with the European Union," he said.
Barroso recommitted the European Union to the peace process facilitated
by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and its
Minsk Group, comprised of the United States, France and Russia.
The talks have remained stalled following Baku's August pardoning of
Azerbaijani military officer Ramil Safarov, who had been convicted
of killing of Armenian serviceman Gurgen Markaryan in Hungary eight
years ago.
The Azeri courts issued a pardon for Safarov after he was extradited
from Hungary, where he had been sentenced to life in prison. He was
greeted by Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev as a national hero and
promoted to major after the extradition.
That move upset Armenia and brought condemnation from the United
Nations. Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner
for Human Rights, said in September Safarov's attack on Markaryan
was clearly ethnically motivated.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2012/12/04/Barroso-Visa-reforms-on-track-for-Armenia/UPI-28331354597380/
United Press International UPI
Dec 4 2012
A simplified visa regime between Armenia and the European Union will
be implemented soon, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso
said this weekend.
YEREVAN, Armenia, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- A simplified visa regime between
Armenia and the European Union will be implemented soon, European
Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said last weekend.
Barroso said following a Saturday meeting with Armenian President
Serzh Sargsyan in Yerevan that visa facilitation and readmission
agreements with the European Union would be finalized this month.
They would come into force by mid-2013 in a move designed to strengthen
Armenia's economic ties to Europe even as it remains deadlocked in
a semi-frozen conflict with Azerbaijan.
"After constructive -- and should I say quick -- negotiations, we
will be able to sign the visa facilitation agreement on December
17th, followed at a later date by the signature of the readmission
agreement," Barroso said.
"Our long-term goal is clear and we will work for it -- we want
visa-free travel," the EU leader declared.
Negotiations on the visa liberalization began in February. Under the
facilitation of movement reforms, lower visa fees for all Armenian
citizens would be implemented and waivers would be issued in certain
categories, such as family members and pensioners.
A maximum processing time of 10 calendar days would be instituted,
as well as simplified supporting document requirements and wider
issuances of multiple-entry visas for business travelers.
The new readmission agreement, meanwhile, provides for reciprocal
obligations on both sides to readmit their nationals as well as
certain third-country nationals who are in "irregular situations"
on the territory of the other party.
The European Union last year launched a "mobility partnership" with
Armenia -- a non-legally binding framework for managing movements of
people between the country and 10 EU member states, including Belgium,
Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands,
Poland, Romania and Sweden.
Barroso also said he was optimistic of completing an economic
association agreement, including a "deep and comprehensive free trade"
deal, with Armenia in time for the European Union's November 2013
Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius.
"Once completed, these negotiations will further strengthen Armenia's
European perspective," he asserted.
But the EU leader also cautioned Armenia's decades-old conflict with
Azerbaijan over the disputed ethnic enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh must
be resolved peacefully if it is to take advantage of its deeper ties
with Europe.
"We believe that only through a stable neighborhood and good relations
amongst the countries in the region will be possible for Armenia to
fully tap the potential of the country and also of its association
agenda with the European Union," he said.
Barroso recommitted the European Union to the peace process facilitated
by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and its
Minsk Group, comprised of the United States, France and Russia.
The talks have remained stalled following Baku's August pardoning of
Azerbaijani military officer Ramil Safarov, who had been convicted
of killing of Armenian serviceman Gurgen Markaryan in Hungary eight
years ago.
The Azeri courts issued a pardon for Safarov after he was extradited
from Hungary, where he had been sentenced to life in prison. He was
greeted by Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev as a national hero and
promoted to major after the extradition.
That move upset Armenia and brought condemnation from the United
Nations. Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner
for Human Rights, said in September Safarov's attack on Markaryan
was clearly ethnically motivated.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2012/12/04/Barroso-Visa-reforms-on-track-for-Armenia/UPI-28331354597380/