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Can Ukraine influence the EU’s visa policy?
Lately, Ukraine’s European integration is increasingly associated with visa problems, or rather with problems that Ukrainian nationals confront when they try to obtain visas to EU countries. Characteristically, the tone in the visa policy is being set by Ukrainian children, who have been forced to resort to their mastery to get visas. A children’s choir recently staged a concert in front of the German Consulate. Later, the Children of Ukraine Ensemble danced for three hours in front of the French Embassy.
These impromptu performances highlight problems that some experts describe as acts of discrimination against Ukrainians. Roman Shpek, head of the Ukrainian Mission to the EU, is urging the European countries to put an end to “extremely dangerous” instances of misunderstanding in connection with issuing Schengen visas to Ukrainian nationals. He noted that certain EU consular authorities are discriminatory and that this may undermine the process of signing the Ukraine-EU readmission agreement, which is important for Brussels. Shpek said he hopes the European Union straightens out the situation with visas for Ukrainian nationals in the nearest future.
The European Commission has promised to make every effort to resolve the Ukrainian visa issue, EC Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner told a press conference in Brussels after a meeting with Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Arsenii Yatseniuk. She said she is certain that such matters will be easier to deal with after the agreement on simplified visa procedures comes into force: “We will do our best and will ask the member countries to ratify and implement this agreement.”
COMMENTARY
Does Ukraine have any levers to influence the visa-issuing policies of countries that are not conducting themselves properly with regard to Ukrainian nationals? Can Ukraine resort to a pressure tactic, like canceling the visa-free regime? How can the Europeans be persuaded to cancel entry visas for Ukrainians or at least ease visa procedures?
Oleksandr SUSHKO, director of the Peace, Conversion, and Foreign Policy Center of Ukraine:
Roman Shpek’s statements were meant to demonstrate the presence of certain diplomatic levers the Ukrainian side can apply under certain extreme conditions. However, this does not mean that such levers will be used. Most likely, they will never be used. But the very fact of mentioning this possibility is a diplomatic maneuver with which official Ukraine is expressing its disappointment over the situation.
Ukrainian diplomacy has rather limited capacities for influencing the visa situation. As a rule, such situations emerge when EU countries appear to have differing interpretations of the national legislation. Countries at issue may always refer to their interior ministries’ policies — and this is a sovereign right vested in every country. Here the only benefit can come from drawing public and media attention to every such fact and creating an atmosphere of intolerance on the part of Ukrainian society and the state. It is also important to provide constant information pressure on the European side, which it won’t be able to ignore. Also, it is important to enlist our partners within the European Union, journalists, and civic organizations that are also concerned about this matter. If this becomes a constant topic in the media, if government officials start responding to it on a formal and regular basis, then European consular offices will no longer be free to apply such inappropriate visa-screening techniques like they are doing today. I am talking primarily about the widespread practice of “collective denials.”
As for exerting pressure exclusively on Brussels, this European capital is in no position to make a decision because it is not in its jurisdiction to issue visas to Ukrainian nationals, except in cases set forth in the agreement on simplified visa procedures, which has not come into force yet. Generally speaking, issues relating to visas are the jurisdiction of EU member countries.
I can only point out that by attracting public attention to this issue, an atmosphere of nonacceptance of such policy is created, and this is having an effect. Today the EU’s governing bodies are more interested in knowing the extent to which member countries are prepared to apply the general rules laid down in their bylaws and in the new agreement.
I believe that the visa procedures won’t be canceled for Ukraine, although such a proposal may be discussed informally and may serve as a factor of diplomatic pressure. However, the thing is that we have made clear what we’re after: if we want considerable changes to the visa regime, we must avoid making gestures that could be interpreted as unfriendly. And this kind of move would certainly be regarded as unfriendly. Therefore, in principle, we could use other approaches, mainly by creating a favorable information environment in the EU countries and securing public support for the idea to abolish visas or institute considerable visa concessions. An increasing number of European politicians, including those who were not outspoken supporters of Ukraine, have been talking about the need to take big steps to solve the visa problems that Ukrainians are having. In view of this, the Ukrainian side must make every effort to convince the European elites of the inevitability of taking further steps in the direction of a no-visa regime.
