Riga Ex-Mayor Neil Ushakov Appointed As Rapporteur On Visa Issues With Belarus In European Parliament

The politician is a supporter of the visa regime simplification.

Former mayor of Riga, MEP Neil Ushakov has been appointed rapporteur on visa issues with Belarus in the European Parliament, ONT TV channel reported.

Ushakov said that during a visit to Minsk as mayor of Riga, he said that, ideally, the EU should go to a visa-free regime with Belarus, tut.by reports.

- It is clear that the regime needs to be simplified as much as possible. This requires a lot of bureaucratic and legal work. It was not only wanted - it worked. Many requirements must be met. I am convinced that there should be a visa-free regime. I support this at the level of the European Parliament in all possible dimensions. I will make every effort so that more colleagues vote for it. I hope that they will support the idea,” said Ushakov.

It was stated in the newspiece that the European Parliament will most likely consider the simplification of the visa regime for Belarus in November 2019.

On October 9, the Committee of Permanent Representatives of the Council of the European Union adopted a draft visa agreement with Belarus. That is, the EU was allowed to sign an agreement with Belarus. The document must be approved by the European Parliament and the European Council, after which the EU Council must decide by qualified majority. And after that, the agreement will be signed by Minsk and Brussels.

Also, on October 9, Belarusian Prime Minister Siarhei Rumas, at a meeting with the head of the EU Delegation to the country, Dirk Schuebel, stated that Belarus was interested in an early resolution of the visa issue, and expanding mutually beneficial cooperation with the EU.