Sending the wrong signal

FOR Ukrainians a Schengen visa is a golden ticket because it allows them to travel to the European Union. In 2012, almost 1.3m visa were issued to Ukrainians, second only to Russians. Many hope that an association agreement with the EU, if it is signed later this month, will make it easier for Ukrainians to travel westward. But at a time when Brussels should be reaching out to ordinary Ukrainians, visa-related incidents are damaging the EU's image.

Last month a group of 20 Ukrainian journalists was invited to Brussels for an event on Ukraine's integration with the EU at the European Parliament. But instead of the one year multiple-entry visas they had applied for, (and which are customary for journalists), they were issued single-entry visas valid for just two days.

The journalists were not impressed; Inna Kovtun, the editor-in-chief of Delovaya Stolitsa, a Kiev-based business newspaper, called it “bad will attitude.” Paweł Zalewski, one of three Polish MEPs who organised the event, said the EU was “handing out the worst possible business card.”

Over the past years, dozens of Ukrainian journalists and intellectuals have had trouble obtaining EU visas, as have many others, including students. Some cases border on the absurd; Taras Prokhasko, a well-known Ukrainian author, was asked by visa authorities to prove that he really is a...Continue reading