Breakthrough in EU-Russia visa talks

EU leaders are expected to take a big step towards visa-free travel with Russia at the upcoming summit due 31 May – 1 June, EUobserver.com reports.

Russia has the last years had the issue high on its agenda with the EU, and Foreign Minister Lavrov has on several occasions stressed that the Russian side would be able to introduce visa-free travel “already tomorrow” if required.

Read also:Lavrov: Russia is ready for visa-free travel with EU

Also on the EU side, the support for a visa-free travel zone with Russia has been growing. Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb has repeatedly spoken out about the need for facilitated cross-border travelling, and had the issue as one of the main points in his meeting with Russia’s Sergey Lavrov in March this year.

Read also:Stubb to discuss visa policies with Lavrov

Several other countries, among them Italy and Spain have been keen on a rapid introduction of visa-free travel with the Russians. The Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini has even maintained that his country will bring up the issue for a vote in the EU Council.

As reported by EUobserver.com, the visa issue was again on the EU agenda in a meeting between EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday (10 May). The meeting included preparatory talks for the summit with Russia to take place in Rostov-on-Don on May 31-June 1. Alexander Stubb told EUobserver after the meeting that he sees the visa issue as the most important point in the upcoming summit.

Also the Germans now support the introduction of visa-free movements, Stubb said.

The current visa-regulations between Russia and the EU are today significantly hampering contacts and cooperation between the sides. The Russian public is expected to be in clear favor of faciliated travelling. Studies from the Russian North show a strong public interest in visa-free travelling with Norway and Finland. A poll conducted by the Norwegian Barents Secretaritat in 2009 indicate that close to 90 percent of respondents in the border areas in Murmansk Oblast will visit the neighboring countries if the visa regulations are abolished.

Read also:People are ready for visa-free travel

The introduction of visa-free travel with Russia could open up for similar arrangements with other countries. Poland is reported to insist that also Ukraine is included in the new arrangements.

BarentsObserver has followed debates about cross-border travelling between European East and West for years. Check out our news section about visa here