No threat of mass migration by Ukrainians to EU if visa requirement is lifted
There is no risk of a mass flow of Ukrainian migrants to the European Union once the visa regime is cancelled. Such was the conclusion announced in Kyiv on April 25 by experts of the Europe without Barriers initiative and the Ukrainian Institute for Social Research on the basis of their study of attitudes towards migration in Ukraine. The study was supported by the International Renaissance Foundation’s European Program.
As reported by European Space, the experts said that combined potential Schengen labor migration and emigration is 5.4%, and possibly 11.6%. The experts emphasized that a visa-free regime does not automatically give someone the right to work and live permanently in the EU, as some Ukrainians believe. Instead, it allows Ukrainians to make short-term trips without having to go through the cumbersome visa process.
Maryana Kuzio of Europe without Barriers pointed out that several requirements must be fulfilled before transitioning to the second (implementation) phase of the Action Plan on Visa Liberalisation, including adoption of legislation on document security and codes on anti-discrimination and anti-corruption for relevant authorities.
Olha Kupets, a migration expert at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, stressed that a positive aspect of visa-free travel would be increased mobility of researchers. In her opinion, current visa requirements are a major obstacle to the free movement of researchers, the improvement of which would have a positive impact on scientific research in Ukraine and prevent further brain drain.
Lyudmyla Davydovych, a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), said that on December 14, 2011, negotiations were completed in Brussels on changes to the EU-Ukraine Visa Facilitation Agreement. The result was 12 pages of amendments that provide additional privileges to citizens of Ukraine. She also advised Ukrainians to contact the MFA if their rights are violated by an EU member state’s consulate, as each issue is “carefully reviewed and observations are conveyed to the European side.”
Europe without Barriers initiative
Iryna Sushko
(+38 044) 238 68 43
iryna_sushko@ukr.net
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The essential role of the European Program lies in promotion of Ukraine’s European integration, combining external pressure of the EU with the domestic one of the Ukrainian civil society, and thus contributing to promotion of open society values in Ukraine.
