BRUSSELS (Sputnik) — The signed document is expected to be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and after 20 days following the publication, the Ukrainians would be able to visit the 28-nation bloc without visas.
"My congratulations to every Ukrainian! Visa-free regime for Ukraine has been officially signed in the European Parliament," Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said on his Twitter account after the signing ceremony.
In April, the European Parliament approved the introduction of the visa-free regime for Ukrainian citizens for short-term travels to the EU member states. The visa-free entrance for Ukrainians would be available to all EU countries, except for Ireland, the United Kingdom, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
Ukraine has been striving for integration with the European Union for years. The two sides launched a dialogue on liberalization of the visa regime in 2008 and the bloc proposed Ukraine a road map concerning the issue in 2010.