Moldova: EU Council approves visa free up to 90 days for an EaP country

As off early May, citizens of the Republic of Moldova possessing biometric passports will be able to travel to and throughout the Schengen area without a visa, according to a press release from the Council today. The visa free regime concerns stays of up to 90 days. The regime should enter into force, in accordance with Article 2 of the adopted text, on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. Since the regulation is likely to be published during April, the visa liberalisation should be effective in early May 2014, a press release continues.

Moldova is the first Eastern Partnership country to meet all the requirements laid down in the Visa Liberalisation Action Plan. The European Parliament gave its green light to the amendments on 27 February 2014. The Prague Eastern Partnership Summit on 7 May 2009 reaffirmed the EU's long-term goal of full visa liberalisation for individual partner countries on a case-by-case basis provided that conditions for well-managed and secure mobility are in place.

The visa liberalisation dialogue with Moldova was opened in June 2010 and a Visa Liberalisation Action Plan was established. The decision on visa free access to the Schengen area is based on the progress made by the country in implementing major reforms in areas such as the strengthening of the rule of law, combating organised crime, corruption and illegal migration and improving their administrative capacity in border control and security of documents.

The Republic of Moldova already exempts EU citizens from the visa obligation.

Press release

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