Page 16 - bne IntelliNews weekly newspaper – Russians lose showdown at EBRD AM

Eastern Europe
May 12, 2017 www.intellinews.com I Page 16
EU Council greenlights visa-free regime for Ukraine
bne IntelliNews
The Council of the European Union (EU) adopted on May 11 a regulation on visa liberalisation for Ukrainian citizens travelling to the EU for short- term stays, fulfilling a long-held promise the bloc had made to help cement Kyiv’s pro-EU orienta- tion and giving the administration of President Petro Poroshenko a boost.
“Ukrainian citizens with a biometric passport travelling to the EU for up to 90 days [in any 180-day period] for business, tourist or family purposes will no longer need a visa,” the Council said in a statement. “These measures will not apply to Ireland and the United Kingdom, in ac- cordance with the protocols annexed to the EU treaties. The visa regime of these member states remains subject to their national legislation.”
The motion was approved at the level of the minis- ters of agriculture and fisheries. The move fol- lows April’s decision made by the Committee of Permanent Representatives of the Member States of the European Union (COREPER) to back the decision to liberalise the visa regime.
To complete the process, the regime should
be approved by the president of the EU and the representative of the country presiding over the union (Malta), and be published in the official journal of the EU.
“The adoption of the regulation on visa liber- alisation for Ukrainian citizens is an important development, which will help strengthen ties between the people of Ukraine and the EU,”
WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Keep up to date with events in emerging Europe with the bne IntelliNews weekly newspaper, a collection of our best stories on the region, commentary and features, as well as highlighted corporate and economic news.
Sign up to receive a free copy of bne's weekly newspaper by filling out the form here.
Or go to bne.eu/welcome to see samples of this and other products.
bne:Newspaper Follow us on twitter.com/bneintellinews
Content:
2 Top Stories
4 The Regions This Week 8 Chart
9 Central Europe
11 Southeast Europe 13 Eastern Europe 16 Eurasia
18 Opinion
21 Survey
23 Lists24 Lists
March 31, 2017 www.intellinews.com
Bulgaria’s kingmaker parties to hold GERB
to ransom
bne IntelliNews
The centre-right Citizens for European Develop- ment of Bulgaria (GERB) might have won the snap parliamentary elections held on March 26, but the party is heading for tough negotiations with possible partners to gain a large enough majority to form a government, and will most likely be forced to make big compromises to stay in power.
Central Europe starts to tot up Brexit fallout
bne IntelliNews
Central European states expressed regret that the UK is leaving the EU as London triggered the Ar- ticle 50 withdrawal clause on March 29. They also quickly moved to start totting up the direct costs.
The economic effects of Brexit on Central Eu- rope are hard to pinpoint given the wide range of
Two smaller groups in the parliament – the na- tionalist United Patriots coalition and the populist Volya (Will) party – have already said they will pre- sent a united front in talks with GERB. They have also indicated they are willing to work with the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), the runner-up in
See page 2
TmhaejoVrispeogwreardsr.egion will be hard hit by the loss of their closest ally amongst the bloc's
potential scenarios under which the UK will exit. However, most suggest the damage will be limited by modest direct trade ties.
In political terms, the Visegrad region will be
See page 3