Schengen visa fees will depend on “election” results

If the “election” is transparent and open, if people who are in prison for unfounded accusations, among them Alyaksandr Kazulin, are realised, the European Union will be able to star up a new dynamics in relations with Belarus, Mireille Musso, French Ambassador to Belarus said at a press conference in Minsk.

On behalf of French presidency in the EU Council, M. Musso emphasised, the case is not only in estimation of the election on the day of voting, but also in the degree of freedom and open character of the whole campaign, Interfax reports.

In this connection the ambassador noted that no special power is needed for any citizen in France to come to a district election committee and watch the process of counting the votes.

Only if the “parliamentary election” is recognised as free, realisation of neighbourhood policy towards Belarus will be possible, the ambassador stressed in an interview to BelaPAN.

“Until an agreement on cooperation and partnership in the frames of the European Neighbourhood Policy is signed between Belarus and the European Union, cost and procedure of Schengen visas issuing won’t be change for the Belarusians,” French Ambassador to Belarus Mireille Musso said.

According to her, the agreement will give the Belarusians “the same advantages, the citizens of Russia, Ukraine and Serbia use”. We remind, consular fee for these countries is 35 euro, while the Belarusians have to pay 60 euro since 1 January 2007.