Ukraine welcomes amended visa facilitation agreement with EU

Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara said Thursday that Ukraine welcomes the European Parliament's decision to approve the amended visa facilitation agreement between his country and the EU."We believe that the current agreement is another step towards the abolition of the visa regime with the EU," Kozhara told reporters.Kozhara spoke after the European Parliament approved the visa agreement earlier Thursday.Ukrainian international relations expert Marianna Kuzio echoed Kozhara, saying that Ukraine is pleased with the amended agreement as it will provide procedural facilitations for a wider category of applicants."The decision of the European Parliament is very important for us as more Ukrainians will take advantage of facilitated visa regime with the EU. We hope that the deal will come into force in May," Kuzio, coordinator of the "Europe Without Barriers" project, told Xinhua in a telephone interview.The agreement will become valid after it is approved by the foreign ministers of the EU states.The deal is expected to make it easier for Ukrainian truck drivers, journalists, cultural and civil society figures and relatives of EU citizens to obtain short-term entrance visas.The measures will include decreasing visa fees and reducing the number of documents required.EU citizens have been exempted from visa requirements when travelling to Ukraine since 2005.