ArmInfo.Armenia expects a deep and meaningful dialogue with the European Union on the second round of talks on the liberalization of the visa regime will start soon. This was stated by Naira Zohrabyan, a deputy of the Armenian parliament from the Tsaroukyan faction, in Yerevan on June 14 at the conference "The future of the Eastern Partnership in the period of unrest."
She stated that Armenia had ratified the readmission agreement in 2013-14, but so far the second round of talks has not yet begun. "And we expect that the second round will begin soon, as it is important for us, including the points of view of deepening our bilateral interaction and stimulating people-to-people contacts, because those humiliations through which our citizens often pass during the execution of documents for obtaining visas to EU countries, are unacceptable and do not correspond to the spirit of our relations, "Zohrabyan concluded.
To note, on December 17, 2012, an agreement was signed to simplify the visa regime between Armenia and the EU, which entered into force on January 1, 2014. The agreement accelerated the procedure for issuing visas to consulates of the European Union countries based in Yerevan. Now the decision to grant a visa is taken within ten days, and in emergency cases - within two or less days. In addition, the agreement provides for a reduction in the list of documents necessary for obtaining a visa. The price of the visa after the signing of the agreement was reduced to thirty-five euros against the sixty euros that tourists gave before the ratification of the agreement. Another important plus of the simplified visa regime is a free visa, which is provided to children under the age of twelve, as well as to the disabled and their accompanying persons. This document assumes the introduction of a simplified procedure for obtaining visas for entry into the Schengen area for members of official delegations, journalists, businessmen, scientists, athletes, schoolchildren and students, close relatives of EU citizens, and people who are sent to the European Union for treatment. Participants in various international conferences, exchange programs and other public events of international character will also be able to obtain visas under a simplified regime. In general, the list of various categories of the population who will have the opportunity to visit the EU under a simplified scheme is quite extensive. Facilitated and the process of providing multi visas, which was previously unnecessarily complex and lengthy. And citizens of Armenia with diplomatic passports are completely exempted from the need to obtain a visa. The simplification of the visa issuance scheme also affected the terms of stay of Armenian citizens in the territory of the EU countries. Now this period is ninety days in each period of one hundred and eighty days. At the same time, an agreement on readmission was also signed.
After that, the Armenian authorities repeatedly stressed the need to start a dialogue around the second stage of the liberalization process, but it is constantly postponed for one reason or another.