The loss of Donbass buried Kyiv's chances of easing the visa regime with the EU
Riga - Kyiv
As predicted, at the summit in Riga, representatives of the European Union announced their refusal to soften the visa regime with Ukraine.
“Easing the visa regime is possible only if all the necessary conditions are met. The European Commission presented a report that Ukraine and Georgia have made enough efforts in this matter, but these efforts are still not enough for the situation as a whole to be improved,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said, as quoted by Riga Radio MixFM.
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The difficulty of concluding an agreement on a visa-free regime with Ukraine lies in the potential danger of an influx of refugees from this country. This is the opinion on the radio Baltkom expressed political scientist Karlis Daukšts.
“Ukraine is actually in a state of hybrid war within the country. The 400 km border with its eastern neighbor is practically unguarded, so the issue of a visa-free regime for the EU is strategically and geopolitically unprofitable. There are fears that if military operations continue on the territory of Ukraine, a stream of refugees may pour into Latvia, which could aggravate migration problems that are already pressing for Europe,” said the political scientist.
British Prime Minister David Cameron said on the eve of the summit in Riga that his state is suffering from an influx of migrants who legally arrive in the country and then find work illegally.
“Viktor Yushchenko said in 2005 that in 2016 Ukraine would become a full member of the EU. There are 2015 months left until the end of 7, has anything changed? Nothing! With such trends - the referendum in Great Britain on non-participation in the EU, the withdrawal of Iceland's application and the problem with Greece, God grant that the European Union survives these 10 years.
A visa-free regime between Ukraine and the EU is an economic criterion. If we were not given visas in the successful year of 2012, when our salary was 3600 hryvnia (which was equal to 450 dollars), then now no one will give them! We will not be given a visa-free regime when 99 percent of Ukrainians have nothing to go to the European Union for,” comments former Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Boris Kolesnikov.
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