Belarus – EU visa agreement may be delayed because of Lukashenka

European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Johannes Hahn. Screenshot of Belsat.eu video

It was planned to discuss cooperation between Belarus and the EU during the visit of the European diplomacy head Federica Mogherini to Minsk. But due to the absence of the Belarusian head of state, the meeting was canceled.

“With regard to Belarus, I was confident that my colleague, Ms. Mogherini, would continue negotiations these days, but unfortunately, the visit did not take place, as the President of Belarus is also not in the country. But I hope that the visa agreement will be signed, as well as the agreement on the priorities of the partnership between the EU and Belarus,” ONT quotes the statement of European Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Johannes Hahn.

Other people are likely to sign these documents, because the new composition of the European Commission is currently being formed in the EU.

A high-level meeting within the framework of the Eastern Partnership was planned in Minsk for October 4-5. But then it turned out that the heads of foreign ministries of the European Union, Lithuania and Poland, were not coming to Minsk. One of the reasons was the meeting of Alyaksandr Lukashenka with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky in Zhytomyr on October 4.

The Foreign Ministry of Belarus said that the meeting was not canceled but postponed. But the specific timing of the new meeting has not been called. Meanwhile, starting from February 2020, Schengen visas may become much more expensive for Belarusians if Minsk and Brussels fail to sign the visa facilitation agreement.

belsat.eu

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