Tourist inflow from Europe to increase ahead of EXPO 2017: Ambassador Traian Hristea
One of the EPCA articles covers the visa facilitation issue - simplification of granting Schengen visas for Kazakh citizens. What does it envisage practically? What is the state of negotiations regarding this issue? What are the preliminary agreements?
Visa facilitation issue is an important moment of bilateral relations. Recalling the course of the meeting between President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Junker and Nursultan Nazarbayev the parties touched upon mobility of people between the EU and Kazakhstan. The EU have taken note of Kazakhstan's interest in further advancing bilateral cooperation on mobility issues and in starting negotiations on Visa Facilitation and Readmission with the EU. The EU also welcomed the simplified process introduced by the Kazakhstan Government with regard to the mobility of EU citizens travelling to Kazakhstan.
The EU believes that implementation of the EU Visa Code, which has been in force since April 2010, has already contributed to the simplification of issuing short stay visas for citizens of Kazakhstan.
Migration dialogue with Kazakhstan is very much in the competence of the Member States and therefore Kazakhstan has to work with them to build a consensus on this issue. EU is ready to provide expertise, including under the EU Partnership Instrument with regard to the contents, implementation and evaluation of the implementation of Kazakhstan's National Action Plan on visa harmonisation. But the implementation of this Plan is in formally not related and therefore automatically not guarantees visa facilitation.
Earlier, during our meeting, you have mentioned that according to the new EU Visa Code unified Schengen visa statistics to be introduced. Could you please provide more details on this issue?
Yes, unified visa statistics is one of the elements of common visa policy along with New Visa Code and unified format for the visa sticker. The statistics allows to monitor the general trends on consular issues. The statistics are based on the number of applications, the number of visas issued, and the number of visas not issued regarding Uniform Schengen Visas and Multiple entry uniform visas types throughout Schengen member-states. As the latest 2015 statistics show, from Russia we have received the largest number of Schengen visa applications, while Brunei is the country with the poorest number. On the other hand, the country with the largest number of Visa Application Rejections is Afghanistan. Kazakhstan gains 19th place among 172 states, with more than 140,000 visas issued. And the not-issued rate for visas is very low, about 1.9%.
In your view, is the EU one of the most popular travel destinations for Kazakhstani citizens?
The abovementioned fact fully depicts the current popularity of Europe as the travel destination for citizens of Kazakhstan for leisure, work and studies abroad. Moreover, next year we expect the increase of mutual tourists flow dynamic, due to Expo 2017 in Astana and the new enhanced Erasmus+ education program's opportunities. In 2017 the total budget for Erasmus+ was increased up to EUR 300 million, which will widen the scope and content of the academic mobility programs for youth.
Taking into account the latest events in Europe, are there any plans to restrict the control over migrant and tourist flows?
In December 2015, the European Commission adopted an important set of measures to manage the EU's external borders and protect the Schengen area without internal borders. The proposals will help to manage migration more effectively, improve the internal security in the EU and safeguard the principle of free movement of persons. Through the European Border and Coast Guard the EU strives to ensure strong and shared management of the external borders. The Commission also proposes to amend the Schengen Border Code in order to introduce, at the external borders of the EU, systematic checks against relevant databases for all people entering or exiting the Schengen area. A uniform European travel document for return will facilitate effective return of illegally staying third country nationals.
The EU plans to implement the so-called "Back to Schengen" Roadmap allowing for a return to a normally functioning Schengen area. But despite the stabilization of the situation, currently the conditions of the roadmap are not yet fully fulfilled, and it was proposed to extend these measures, in line with the Schengen Borders Code. But those EU countries that opt to continue carrying out internal border controls should review weekly the necessity, frequency, location and time of controls, adjust the intensity of the controls to the level of the threat addressed, and phase them out wherever appropriate.
On 4 October Brussels hosted the 15th meeting of the EU-Kazakhstan Cooperation Council, which was attended by you. What are the main outcomes of this meeting?
Actually this meeting was the first after the start of the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement's (EPCA) provisional application from 1 May 2016. The Cooperation Council confirmed the mutual interest in consolidating the relations and cooperation, in particular in ensuring regional stability and development.
Together with Kazakh side we also discussed political, judiciary, trade and economic reforms, and international issues. During the meeting the need to maintain the right balance between legitimate security measures necessary in fighting terrorism and individual rights and freedoms was stressed.
The meeting also focused on the EU regional strategy for Central Asia, as there were several events is a row - the Brussels Conference on Afghanistan and EU-Central Asia Ministerial meeting. The agenda included issues of border management, countering terrorism and the fight against drug trafficking and illegal migration.
Thank you for the interview!