A mission of European experts headed by Director General of the Directorate for Home Affairs of the European Commission Stefano Manservisi is expected to come to Chisinau on October 15 to assess the fulfillment of the Visa Liberalization Plan of Action, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Iulian Groza has told IPN.
The European Commission will assess the implementation of reforms within the second phase of the EU- Moldova Visa Liberalization Plan of Action. Afterward, it will present a report to the EU member states, which will afterward decide if Moldova is ready for a liberalized visa regime or not. While the European mission will be in Moldova, there will be held a high-level meeting of the Moldova – European Union Mobility Partnership.
According to the deputy head of the General European Integration Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Daniela Morari, for the visa regime to be liberalized, Moldova had to implement a plan of action consisting of two phases. The first included the harmonization of the legislation and was completed officially last November. Two progress reports on the implementation of the second phase have been presented since last December.
“It is very important for us what will be there in the final report of the Commission,” said Daniela Morari. It is important that the final results of the report be made public at the beginning of November so that the EU member states manage to examine the report and submit a proposal at the Vilnius Eastern Partnership Summit.
If the visa regime is abolished, the Moldovans will be able to travel freely in the EU for a period of 90 days during six months, based on a valid biometric passport.
