Agreement between the European Union and Belarus on the facilitation of the issuance of visas

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Summary:

Agreement between the European Union (EU) and Belarus on the facilitation of the issuance of visas.

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The purpose of this Agreement is to facilitate, on the basis of reciprocity, the issuance of visas for an intended stay of no more than 90 days in any 180-day period to the citizens of the European Union and Belarus (short term travel).

The visa facilitation agreement aims to make it easier and cheaper for Belarus citizens travelling to the Schengen area and EU citizens travelling to Belarus to obtain a visa. The agreement simplifies the documentation which needs to be presented by certain categories of citizens as well as the issuance of multiple entry visas for some categories of frequent travellers. It also reduces the general fee for processing visa applications. Holders of diplomatic passports are exempt from the visa obligation.

Negotiations with Belarus were formally opened in January 2014 and resulted in an agreement initialled in June 2019. Proposals for Council Decisions on the signing and conclusion of this Agreement on behalf of the European Union were adopted by the European Commission on 30 August 2019. The Council of the European Union adopted the Decision on signing the Agreement on 14 October 2019, and the Decision on concluding the Agreement on 27 May 2020.

Source Link https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-12363-2019-INIT/en/pdf
Related Links
News
RFE/RL, 08/01/2020: EU, Belarus Ink Visa Deals To Improve Mobility Of Citizens https://www.rferl.org/a/eu-belarus-ink-visa-deals-to-improve-mobility-of-citizens/30366938.html
LRT News, 09/01/2020: EU signs visa agreement with Belarus, ending decade-long deadlock https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/1131735/eu-signs-visa-agreement-with-belarus-ending-decade-long-deadlock
BELTA, 14/04/2020: Belarus completes ratification of visa facilitation, readmission agreements with EU https://eng.belta.by/politics/view/belarus-completes-ratification-of-visa-facilitation-readmission-agreements-with-eu-129769-2020/
BELTA, 22/04/2020: Belarus urges EU to promptly finish enactment of visa agreement https://eng.belta.by/politics/view/belarus-urges-eu-to-promptly-finish-enactment-of-visa-agreement-129983-2020/

Official
EUR-LEX: COM(2019)403: Proposal for a Council Decision on the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Belarus on the facilitation of the issuance of visas https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=COM:2019:403:FIN
EUR-LEX: COM(2019)405: Proposal for a Council Decision on the signing, on behalf of the European Union, of the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Belarus on the facilitation of the issuance of visas https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=COM:2019:405:FIN
EUR-LEX: Council Decision (EU) 2019/1915 of 14 October 2019 on the signing, on behalf of the Union, of the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Belarus on the facilitation of the issuance of visas https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec/2019/1915/oj
European Parliament: Legislative Observatory: Procedure File for Proposal on EU/Belarus Agreement on facilitation of issuance of visas https://oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/ficheprocedure.do?reference=2019/0182(NLE)
European Commission: Press Release, 08/01/2020: Visa Facilitation and Readmission: the European Union and Belarus sign agreements https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_20_6
Council of the European Union: Press Release, 27/05/2020: Belarus: EU concludes agreements on visa facilitation and readmission https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2020/05/27/belarus-eu-concludes-agreements-on-visa-facilitation-and-readmission/
EU EEAS: Delegation of the European Union to Belarus: News, 27/05/2020: Belarus: EU concludes agreements on visa facilitation and readmission https://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/belarus/79984/

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Record URL https://www.europeansources.info/record/?p=521919