Zohrabyan: Armenia expects soonest start of deep and meaningful  dialogue with EU on liberalization of visa regime

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.