On 18th of March an international conference “Setting Priorities for the Eastern Partnership: Possibilities for Slovak-Ukrainian Cooperation and EU-Ukraine Relations” was held in the capital of the Slovak Republic (Bratislava).
Organizers of the event, Research Centre of the Slovak Foreign Policy Association, Bratislava/Presov, National Institute for Strategic Studies of Ukraine (NISS), Kiev/Uzhgorod in partnership with theNorwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), Oslo, proposed to discuss several issues, which are dedicated to the Eastern Partnership opportunities to approach countries of Eastern Europe, Ukraine in particular, to the EU norms and standards.
It was about the role and place of Ukraine as a key partner of the EU / Slovakia and a making format of cooperation in economic and energy spheres.
There were also questions of visa and border regime between Slovakia – Ukraine relations to discuss problems and prospects of visa and migration areas.
Experts of EWB that participated in the conference had presented the results of public monitoring on issuing visas by the consulates of EU member states, in particular the Slovak Republic, and the performance of Local Border Traffic Agreement (LBT).
Experts stressed the need to continue regular monitoring of visa practices and procedure of border crossing between Ukraine and Slovakia and offered recommendations to increase the efficiency of Local Border Traffic Agreement.
In particular, it was proposed to develop a consolidated position with the EU countries that are neighbours of Ukraine to introduce of a single form of LBT within the Carpathian Euroregion.
This will create a common zone of LBT – the so-called "small Schengen " in the border areas. And within this common zone will operate one document issued in one of the countries (Ukraine, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland) and will be valid in all four countries.
Note: on March 30, 2011 another conference on these issues will be held in the Institute of Strategic Studies (Kyiv).
