At the meeting of the European Parliament, which was broadcast online, the majority of deputies voted for adoption of both documents. Now they – according to the established procedure – will be sent to the Council of the European Union for signing, after which the two sides will exchange instruments of ratification.
the Agreement, BelTA informs will enter into force on the same date the first day of the second month after an exchange of letters. It was assumed that this could happen in June, but now it is clear that the timing of the entry into force of the agreements shifted by at least July.
As already informed “the UNION”, at the beginning of April, the document was adopted by the lower house of the Belarusian Parliament, and then approved by the upper house. 9 APR laws on ratification of agreements was signed by Alexander Lukashenko.
it is Worth reminding that the Deputy Minister of foreign Affairs of Belarus Oleg Kravchenko, presenting to parliamentarians the visa agreement, said then that it “aims to maximize the mutual facilitation of visa issuance”. Among the main provisions of the agreement, a senior diplomat called then the cost of the “Schengen area”, which will drop for the citizens of the country to 35 euros.
in addition, many categories of citizens can apply for visa without paying a fee to obtain multiple-entry visas with a longer validity period in a simplified manner. However, the document only applies to short term visas and does not regulate the procedure of their issue to school or work.
Belarusian visas for EU citizens will also drop to € 35. Will be expanded and the list of grounds for issuing free visas for non-commercial purposes. Will increase in two times the period of stay of foreigners in the country 90 days per year to 180.
as for the readmission agreement, it envisages that both parties will have to implement the readmission to its territory its own citizens, citizens of third countries and persons without citizenship that do not meet or no longer meet the criteria of legality in the territories of each other.
From the Belarusian side in the Belgian capital signatures to the agreements, the Agency said, was set by the Minister of foreign Affairs Vladimir Mackay. The EU was represented by the Deputy Prime Minister- the Minister of internal Affairs of Croatia Davor Bozinovic the European Commissioner for home Affairs Ilva Johansson.
