See related documentsWritten declaration
No.
412
| Doc. 11669
| 26 June 2008
Reducing visa fees for Belarussian citizens
Signatories: Mr Andrea RIGONI,
Italy, ALDE ; Mr Claudio AZZOLINI,
Italy ; Mr Laurent BÉTEILLE,
France, EPP/CD ; Mr Aleksandër BIBERAJ,
Albania ; Mr Luc Van den BRANDE,
Belgium, EPP/CD ; Mr Mevlüt ÇAVUŞOĞLU,
Turkey, EDG ; Mr Boriss CILEVIČS,
Latvia, SOC ; Ms Anna ČURDOVÁ,
Czech Republic ; Mr Mátyás EÖRSI,
Hungary, ALDE ; Mr Frank FAHEY,
Ireland, ALDE ; Mr Andreas GROSS,
Switzerland, SOC ; Mr Sabir HAJIYEV,
Azerbaijan, SOC ; Mr Mike HANCOCK,
United Kingdom, ALDE ; Mr Andres HERKEL,
Estonia, EPP/CD ; Mr Joachim HÖRSTER,
Germany, EPP/CD ; Ms Sinikka HURSKAINEN,
Finland, SOC ; Mr Tadeusz IWIŃSKI,
Poland, SOC ; Ms Corien W.A. JONKER,
Netherlands, EPP/CD ; Ms Birgen KELEŞ,
Turkey, SOC ; Mr Tiny KOX,
Netherlands, UEL ; Mr Göran LINDBLAD,
Sweden, EPP/CD ; Mr René van der LINDEN,
Netherlands ; Mr Eduard LINTNER,
Germany ; Mr Dariusz LIPIŃSKI,
Poland, EPP/CD ; Mr Mikhail MARGELOV,
Russian Federation ; Ms Miroslava NĚMCOVÁ,
Czech Republic ; Mr Pasquale NESSA,
Italy, EPP/CD ; Ms Carina OHLSSON,
Sweden, SOC ; Mr Christos POURGOURIDES,
Cyprus, EPP/CD ; Mr François ROCHEBLOINE,
France, EPP/CD ; Lord David RUSSELL-JOHNSTON,
United Kingdom ; Mr Leonid SLUTSKY,
Russian Federation, SOC ; Mr Björn von SYDOW,
Sweden, SOC ; Mr Vilmos SZABÓ,
Hungary ; Mr Mehmet TEKELİOĞLU,
Turkey, EPP/CD ; Mr Ilyas UMAKHANOV,
Russian Federation, EDG ; Mr Marco ZACCHERA,
Italy
This written declaration commits only those who have signed it.Amongst Europeans, Belarusian citizens have to pay the highest
fees to enter countries belonging to the Schengen zone: €60 for
a single-entry visa. This sum amounts to almost one third of the
average monthly salary in Belarus. This, together with bureaucratic
hurdles, creates overwhelming difficulties for ordinary Belarusians,
especially students, youth and business people, in travelling to
Europe, and reduces even further their chances of coming into contact
with other Europeans.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Council
of Europe member states and the European Union have constantly and
repeatedly stated that the policy applied towards the Belarusian
authorities should not have any adverse consequences on ordinary
Belarusians, who should not be isolated. However, the EU has made
it clear that it will reduce visa fees only once Belarus joins the
European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP).
We, the undersigned, considering that the maintenance of such
high fees is in contradiction with their undertaking not to isolate
ordinary Belarusians, ask the European Union and European governments
to reduce visa fees and simplify visa procedures for Belarusian
citizens in order to facilitate their mobility as much as possible.