European Commission Representative: Upon concluding visa  liberalisation talks, Yerevan and Brussels must convince 27 EU States  of the country`s readiness

ArmInfo.Upon completion of the visa liberalization negotiations between Armenia and the EU, Yerevan and Brussels will need to convince the 27 EU member states, as well as a majority of the members of the European Parliament, that the republic is ready for this step.  Johannes Luchner, Deputy Director-General for Migration and Home Affairs of the European Commission, made this statement at a press conference in Yerevan on  visa liberalization between Armenia and the EU.

He noted that Armenia and the EU have managed to achieve good  progress in the visa liberalization negotiations in a relatively  short period of time. However, Luhner emphasized that this is a  large-scale process that  entails meeting a extensive set of  requirements within the Action Plan. "And upon completion of this  process, Armenia and the EU will need to convince the 27 EU Member  States that the republic is ready for this step. A majority of the  European Parliament must also be convinced of this. In this regard,  it is important to understand the consequences of accelerating this  process," the European Commission representative emphasized.

As Luchner explained, if a visa-free regime is introduced hastily and  subsequently fails to function effectively, its preservation will be  jeopardised. "That is precisely why we underscore the importance of  the quality of the work being carried out as the only path toward  achieving and maintaining a visa-free regime," the European  Commission representative emphasized.

He pointed to existing challenges in this process, specifically, visa  issuance procedures in EU Member States. Luhner noted that these  challenges are global in nature and do not affect Armenia alone. In  this regard, the European Commission representative noted that  consular services in several countries have already taken measures to  increase staffing and more efficiently manage time when processing  visa applications based on purpose, such as business, study, or other  categories.

"On the whole, the number of issued visas has increased. However, we  still need to continue our efforts to achieve a reduction in visa  refusal rates. Most frequently, the reason for a refusal is the  submission of incorrect information by the agencies to which this  process has been delegated. Nevertheless, it is essential to keep  working in this direction," the European Commission representative  concluded.