European Commission Vice-President Franco Frattini
Photo: Dmitry Azarov
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Europe Facilitates Visa Procedures for Russia
The European Justice and Home Affairs Council has approved today agreements on visa facilitation and readmission of illegal immigrants. The agreements had been signed May 25, 2006 to enter into force June 1, 2007, the Council announced in news release via the web-site.
The agreements are a real achievement of Russia and Europe, as they will ease travel and contacts across Europe, fighting illegal migration at the same time.
“These agreements shall facilitate travelling for many E.U. and Russian citizens and will help us to tackle more effectively illegal migration. This is a concrete example of how the “Common Spaces” agreed with Russia will benefit our citizens and enhance our cooperation with Russia," said European Commission Vice-President Frattini.
The visa agreement, for instance, facilitates issuing short-stay visas with the fees set at just €35. Moreover, the fees won’t apply to some categories, including close relatives, students or disabled people and persons accompanying them.
The readmission agreement specifies when and how to take back illegal residents, including nationals of Russia, the E.U. and some third countries or stateless people.
Nearly 500,000 Russians lived in the E.U. in 2005, Eurostat said. Russia was the third in number of issued Schengen visas (1.8 million, or 21.9 percent of overall).
www.kommersant.com
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