The liberalization of the visa regime will have a positive impact on the Moldovan young people as they will be able to much easier become involved in different European programs and volunteer activities that include trips to Schengen area member states. The young people will be exempted from paying consular taxes and will not lose time queuing up at embassies, shows a study of the impact of the visa regime liberalization on the mobility of young people, IPN reports.

According to foreign policy expert at the National Youth Council Denis Cenusa, who is the author of the study, the liberalization of the visa regime will intensify not only the exchange of experience, but also the transfer of values, traditions and knowledge.

Ludmila Pavlov, head of the Ministry of Education’s Foreign Relations Division, said that about 6,000 young people won scholarships to study abroad in 2013. She urged the young people attending the conference to more often access the Ministry’s official website so as to find out information about the academic mobility offers. The goal is to have about 20% of mobile students in the European area in 2020.

Daniela Morari, deputy head of the Foreign Ministry’s General European Integration Division, said that it is very important for the young people to make biometric passports so as to benefit from the visa-free regime when it is instituted.

“Even if we have a good education system, the mobility of young people in the European countries is one more step towards development. You should bring home what’s best from abroad,” said Deputy Minister of Youth and Sport Dragos Hancu.

Hungarian Ambassador in Chisinau Matyas Szilagyi said the right to mobility is a fundamental one. About half of those who apply for visas for European countries at the Common Visa Issuing Center are young people. The Embassy of Hungary supports Moldova in its European integration efforts because Moldova meets the conditions imposed by the EU step by step.