The Commission of the European Union has confirmed that they are discussing options with Armenia to start the visa liberalisation dialogue.
In an address in a plenary session held on February 27, EU Commissioner for International Relationships Jutta Urpilainen, who presented the agenda on behalf of EU High Representative Josep Borrell, said that in the past months, they have been working to deliver a very clear message.
She said the message is that Armenia is ready to move closer to the European Union, suggesting that they are working on deepening the relations and facilitating entry to the EU for Armenians, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
As Commissioner Urpilainen highlighted, the EU gives importance to people-to-people contact. Thus, in order to make it easier for Armenians to enter the bloc, she confirmed that they are already considering the beginning of the dialogue on visa liberalisation.
For enhanced people-to-people contact, we are discussing options to start a visa liberalisation dialogue. Armenia has expressed its strong interest in this, and we encourage its leadership to step up work on the relevant reforms.
Commissioner Urpilainen stressed that the EU and Armenia are currently at a historic moment regarding their relations. She said that the EU-Armenia relations have never been stronger.
The Commissioner further highlighted the importance of the visa liberalisation dialogue launch. The launching of the dialogue, according to Commissioner Urpilainen, will give a clear and important message to Armenians.
Launching of the visa liberalisation dialogue would send an important political signal to Armenian citizens and would provide leverage for further reforms.
Armenians Tired of Prolonged Visa Liberalisation Process
Armenian citizens have expressed their discontent with the long process of visa liberalisation.
Some of them have said that it is not fair for Armenians to continue to be required to obtain a visa to enter the EU when Georgians and Moldovans already enjoy visa-free entry.
It has been almost a decade now. How come Georgians and Moldovans have this visa-free regime, but Armenians have not?
On the other hand, others have said that they do not necessarily want to be able to travel to the EU without the need to obtain a Schengen visa.
An Armenian citizen said that they would prefer more EU investments in the country that would create more job opportunities and thus discourage Armenians from leaving the country.
Armenia already has a Visa Facilitation Agreement with the EU. Under this agreement, Armenians apply for Schengen visas under facilitated rules and pay a lower visa fee. The Schengen visa application fee for Armenians is €35 instead of the general €80 fee that applies to nationals of other countries.
