Borders To Be Strengthened. And Visas?
On January 30 Ukraine is slated to present in Brussels its program to strengthen its borders to 2005, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Ihor Dolhov informed journalists. The Ukrainian delegation slated to present this program to representatives of the European Commission, EU Cabinet of Ministers, EU parliament, international organizations, and EU member states will be headed by State Secretary for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Oleksandr Chaly. By so doing, Kyiv apparently wants to send a strong signal to the EU that, as Mr. Dolhov put it, an effective barrier to illegal migration, drug trafficking, and arms smuggling to Europe has been erected by Ukrainian law enforcement agencies.
The program presentation, sponsored by the European Commission and the International Organization for Migration Issues, is part of the action plan approved late last year between the EU and Ukraine in the areas of justice and internal affairs. These areas, including among other things border and customs control and border crossing regime (visa or non-visa), came to the top of the EU-Ukraine dialogue agenda in the wake of September 11 tragedy in the US, with EU urging more rigorous border controls and more active measures to combat illegal migration within the framework of international campaign to fight terrorism.
The Foreign Ministry State Secretary told The Day that there is wide concern in the ministry that tightening border procedures could affect the Ukrainians, especially as no threat of international terrorism or illegal migration from Asia to Western Europe, or contraband of drugs and arms is coming from Ukraine. This issue must be discussed with the EU, the Ukrainian official said.
On the other hand, Ukraine, as its eastern borders become more solidified, could push for a more liberal visa regime for its nationals on the part of the EU, especially from the Schengen states. There is no doubt that Ukraine’s border with Russia, a major loophole for illegal immigrants into Ukraine, has to be adequately guarded, the diplomat stressed. Simultaneously, EU representatives have repeatedly criticized Ukraine’s lax border control, demanding it be brought into conformity with international standards. Earlier, the EU declared its intent to finance the modernization of the Ukrainian border infrastructure. In addition, countries of the Visegrad Four (Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia) vying for accession to the EU have offered cooperation with the EU and Ukraine on this issue on the grounds that Ukraine and the EU will soon have a common border.
All this does not mean that the states of the Visegrad Four group are against introducing visas for Ukrainian nationals as their marriage with the EU comes closer. In his interview with The Day, Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Anatoly Zlenko said that he cannot imagine that Ukraine will be spared the visa regime, stressing at the same time that a more flexible and liberal one should be negotiated.
There is another opinion in Ukrainian diplomatic circles: under the Chignon requirements, binding for new entries, strict border procedures (however, short of rigid visa regime) are to be imposed for common borders of the Schengen zone. True, there are numerous exceptions to the rule, for instance, not only a non-visa regime for candidate states currently on the EU waiting list and some EU associated member states, but, also for Croatia, not a candidate country, or Latin American countries. Probably, no exceptions are likely to be made for Ukrainian nationals by the EU, apparently, out of fear of an influx of cheap Ukrainian labor. Ukraine continues to be on the EU blacklist, something which does not seem to depend only on Ukraine’s less than exemplary track record.
