Ukraine completed almost all requirements of VLAP first stage - Azarov
KYIV. Feb 8 (Interfax) - The Ukrainian government has completed almost all of the tasks on the agenda of the first stage of the EU-Ukraine Visa Liberalization Action Plan (VLAP), Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov has said.
"The government has fulfilled almost all of the tasks of the first stage of the action plan," he said at a Thursday meeting with EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy Stefan Fule in Kyiv.
He said five bills vital for visa liberalization had been submitted to parliament.
Azarov said that next week the Cabinet would submit to the Verkhovna Rada two more bills on the improvement of the personal data protection system and on the prevention and counteraction of discrimination.
"We expect that not only the parliamentary majority, but the opposition will also prove its commitment to European integration by passing these bills," Azarov said.
Earlier, in an interview with Interfax Fule expressed regret that the Ukrainian authorities had failed to pass the necessary legislation to enter the second stage of VLAP.
"Now it is a pity that we are still short of a couple of legislative acts for finalizing the first stage of this visa liberalization action plan. I hope very much that the preparation for the summit, the summit itself will be used by the Ukrainian authorities to create momentum in this area," Fule said.
The European commissioner added that the action plan contains "a specific list that clearly defines what kind of legislation, what kind of steps need to be taken for the [EU] member states to be able to provide Ukraine a visa free regime for the Schengen countries." He said this is the first stage and the second stage involves implementation.