EU plans visa waiver for Colombians

Bogota, Feb 5: The European Union (EU) confirmed on Tuesday, it plans to waive visa requirements for Colombian citizens who want to visit the 26-member countries of the Schengen Area.

"Today's decision reaffirms the political will of the EU to remove the visa requirement for Colombians and it is the green light to start the legislative process that will allow (the measure) to be implemented soon," Xinhua quoted EU Ambassador to Colombia Maria Antonia van Gool as saying on Tuesday on the website of the EU delegation in Colombia.

"It is an illustration of the mutual trust and willingness to continue working together. Unfortunately we cannot give an exact date yet as to when (those citizens) will be able to enter without a visa to the Schengen countries because it is still necessary to carry out legislative and institutional measures," Van Gool added.

As European Parliament elections are coming up between May 22-25, "there will be some months when the parliament does not meet, which could affect the speed of the process ahead of us", said Van Gool.

Schengen Area visas are valid for 26 countries, including EU and non-EU states.

IANS