EU Heavyweights Reluctant to Implement Ukraine's Dream of Visa Freedom

While Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has all reason to cheer at the EU's obvious intention to prolong sanctions against Russia, he has nevertheless to accept the fact that the much-desired visa freedom comes with a bit of uncertainty.

Visa freedom for short journeys to the European Union would most certainly be hailed by both Ukrainian business circles and approximately 42 million Ukrainian citizens. Furthermore, the visa freedom would become perhaps the most tangible carrot for the country, which has been sinking further into chaos ever since the Maidan revolution in 2013.

At present, however, President Poroshenko has to be content with EU bosses' "optimism" that the dream will soon become reality. In practice, it may take years until the EU grants the desired visa freedom to a country with a thoroughly corrupt leadership and a decrepit economy, exacerbated by the ongoing armed conflict, which swallows Ukrainian resources at an alarming rate.

During the latest summit between Ukraine and the EU, EU Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker pledged to keep the chances of reaching visa freedom this year alive, yet this objective looks increasingly difficult.

Last week, Brussels swirled with rumors that the visa freedom was blocked by France, which allegedly is reluctant to give a free entry to millions of Ukrainians ahead of next year's presidential election. Although this notion was firmly rejected by both Tusk, Poroshenko and Juncker, there are many reasons to believe it.

European Parliament President Martin Schulz did not try to conceal the fact that responsibility for protracted negotiations on visa freedom solely rested with on larger EU countries. Both France and Germany have for years been skeptic about visa freedom with populous nations with EU ambitions, such as Ukraine or Turkey.

"It is not just about France. I am also informed of a certain restraint in Belgium, Italy, Germany and other countries. So it does not depend on the French election alone, but rather on member states' ability to come to terms," Martin Schulz said, as quoted by Danish newspaper Berlingske. He added that the European Parliament is ready to negotiate visa freedom as quickly as possible.

As regards negotiations on the so-called "emergency brake" for visa freedom, big EU countries with France in the lead would see the criteria for being able to pull this brake as broad as possible. The reasons are that many foreign citizens who enjoy visa-free travel often choose to stay longer than the permitted 90 days, which makes it hard for the competent bodies to keep track of them and puts an extra strain on migration boards. Additionally there has been a marked increase of asylum-seekers from countries with mutual visa freedom, which cannot help but influence the public opinion and decision-makers in the wake of last year's migrant crisis. The emergency brake should therefore be pulled if the citizens from visa-free countries pose a security risk or are not immediately accepted upon deportation.

As compensation to Poroshenko, EU bosses expressed confidence that the EU would extend sanctions for a further six months, until July 2017.

To return the favor, Poroshenko stressed that the EU, despite all talks of crisis, remains the world's most attractive club to seek membership in.

"The EU is under serious attack from populists, nationalists, Euro-skeptics and Russia. But I am sure that the EU will remain in good health in the future, because it is in the EU's 500 million citizens' interest," Poroshenko said, venturing that Ukraine probably was the most EU-optimistic country in all of Europe.