KIEV (Sputnik) — The Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, on Thursday adopted a law on transitioning from internal passports to ID-cards, a key requirement in the visa liberalization process with the European Union.
The decision was supported by 226 lawmakers, exactly the minimum threshold for the vote to stand. To enter into force, the bill must now to be signed by the country's president.
Kiev started to issue new ID-cards on January 1, 2016, under the transition to a visa-free regime with the European Union.
Brussels signed an association deal with Ukraine in 2014 to bring it closer to the bloc. Ukraine regards it as the first step toward eventual accession to the European Union, which Kiev hopes to finalize by 2020.
