By JAMES MUYANWA –
THE European Union (EU) has signed visa waiver agreements with seven members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States.
The waiver agreements provide for visa-free travel to the EU by the
citizens of the involved ACP countries and vice versa, for 90 days in any 180-day period.
The signing ceremony took place in Brussels, Belgium on the side-lines of the ACP-EU Council of ministers last week.
EU Parliamentary State Secretary, for EU Affairs Zanda Kalnina-Lukasevica signed for the union while ACP commissioner for
migration, home affairs and citizenship, Dimitris Avvrampoulos and representatives for the seven countries signed the agreements.
The countries involved are St Lucia, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Vanuatu, Samoa and the republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Currently, to obtain a visa to travel to any EU member country applicants have to carry out rigorous paper work, with a lot of requirements.
“Today’s agreements will encourage people-to-people contacts, boost tourism and invigorate business between the EU and these seven ACP countries,” said Ms Kalnina-Lukasevica.
To benefit from the new arrangement, citizens from the EU and the signatory states should be in possession of valid ordinary, diplomatic, service/official or special passports.
The visa-free travel will apply to all categories of persons regardless of the purpose of travel except travelling to undertake a paid-for venture.
Following the signing ceremony, the decisions will be sent to the European Parliament with a view to obtaining its consent before they can be concluded.
However, the measures took effect on a provisional basis on May 28 2015 when the agreements were signed.