Azerbaijan-EU signs visa facilitation agreement in Vilnius
By Nigar Orujova
Azerbaijan and the European Union signed an agreement on visa regime facilitation at the third Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius on November 29.
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, European Commissioner Stefan Fule, and Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius signed the document.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev attended the official opening of Vilnus Summit, which was opened by Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite.
European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso made keynote speeches at the summit.
Van Rompuy congratulated Azerbaijan and President Ilham Aliyev on the event and said signing the agreement is another step towards further rapprochement between Azerbaijan and the EU.
The EU is looking forward to signing the readmission and mobility partnership agreements with Azerbaijan soon, Van Rompuy said.
After signing the agreement, ratification procedures will be held in Azerbaijani and European parliaments.
Signing the readmission agreement is scheduled for 2014, but both documents will enter into force at the same time; as a result, the visa regime agreement will come into force once the readmission agreement is signed.
The visa facilitation agreement reduces the Schengen visa application fees for Azerbaijani citizens from 60 to 35 euros, Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Mahmud Mammadguliyev told a local media on November 29.
Azerbaijan must also sign bilateral agreements with the Schengen
area member-states - Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, and
Liechtenstein.
The agreement will cover a rather extensive list of individuals,
primarily students and businessmen, and will also involve the
introduction of a visa-free regime for diplomatic passports
holders.
Visa facilitation will also reduce the number of documents required for obtaining the Schengen visa, and a specific period for issuing visa will be identified. These changes will presumably come into force in summer or early fall of 2014.
The complete abolition of the visa regime between Azerbaijan and the EU could be the next step after its facilitation.
Azerbaijan and the EU launched official negotiations on visa facilitation in March 2012 in Baku.
The EU and Azerbaijan maintain their relations under the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, which was signed in 1996 and came into force in 1999.