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Visas, human rights on EU-Russia agenda this WEEK

EU Observer

The signature of a small-time visa deal is likely to form the centrepiece of Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s visit to Brussels.

The so-called upgraded visa facilitation agreement (VFA) is designed to reduce paperwork and delays for some classes of Russian citizens, such as officials, academics and businessmen.

The EU foreign service told this website the pact has been “held back” by Russia’s last minute request to allow visa-free travel for its officials “which we have not been able to agree.” But it added: “We should sign the upgraded VFA as it stands now.”

What Russia really wants is visa-free travel for everybody.

The EU recently sent two delegations to Russia to see what it is doing to meet technical standards on issues such as border control. But the foreign service noted that “information gathering will need to be followed by reforms” and that the EU is not yet ready to start negotiations on a visa-free pact.

In one way, the real centrepiece will be Putin’s presence in the EU capital.

He will attend a dinner with top EU officials Herman Van Rompuy and Jose Manuel Barroso on Thursday (20 December) and a working meeting on Friday.

The last time he came, in February 2011, he created a celebrity buzz in the European Commission, with lots of EU officials who do not work on Russia crowding into the commission’s press room to see him up close.

Putin and Barroso at the time clashed on EU laws designed to limit the power of Russian energy champion Gazprom.

In the meantime, Barroso has opened a competition probe into alleged Gazprom price-fixing which could see it fined billions of euros and forced to renegotiate contracts.