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Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the European Union

Submitted on 2011-10-18 22:00:00

Third round of Russia-EU visa facilitation talks takes place in Moscow

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The third round of negotiations on updating the 2006 Russia-EU Visa Facilitation Agreement took place in Moscow on 13 October 2011.

The Russian delegation was led by Mr. Alexey Klimov, Deputy Director, MFA Consular Department. The EU delegation was led by Mr. Diederik Paalman, Deputy Head of Unit, Directorate General for Home Affairs, European Commission.

The negotiations resulted in practical finalisation of possible amendments to the Agreement, including provisions on visa-free entry, exit and stay for civilian air and sea crew members as well as on external services providers (outsourcing).

The Parties will start their internal procedures with a view to preparing the amendments for signing in the near future.

The work on updating the 2006 Russia-EU Visa Facilitation Agreement is carried out upon the initiative of the Russian side. The first and second rounds of negotiations took place in Moscow in April 2011 and in Brussels in June 2011.