Lukashenka okays ratification of visa facilitation, readmission agreements with EU

Last week Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka signed laws regarding the ratification of the agreements on visa facilitation and readmission with the European Union.

The documents have been published on the National Legal Internet Portal on Tuesday.

The Belarusian lawmakers ratified the above mentioned agreements on April, 2. Earlier, Andrey Savinykh, Chairman of the parliamentary committee for internatonal affairs, expressed hope that the visa facilitation agreement would come into force at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic’s being on its wane.

On January 8, the European Union and Belarus signed a visa facilitation agreement and a readmission agreement. The visa facilitation agreement will make it easier for Belarusian citizens to acquire short-term visas to come to the EU.

At the signing ceremony, Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, together with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior of Croatia as Council Presidency, Davor Božinović, signed for the EU, while Belarus was represented by Foreign Minister Uladzimir Makey.

The both agreements are expected to enter into force in June 2020. Then, the visa fee for Belarusians will be automatically reduced from €80 to €35.

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