EU targets Ukraine for stringent visa controls

UKRAINE has its own problems straightening out its newfound democracy between its western and Russian oligarchs, but it is also having to contend with a more protectionist European Union.

Following the Orange revolution Ukraine abolished visas for all EU citizens and was promised that getting visas to visit the EU would be much easier than in the past. However, both tourists and business interests are reporting increased fees and increasingly higher hurdles.

Some of the stories are ridiculous. For instance a children’s choir from the city of Kharkov recently had literally to sing for their visas. Invited to an EU country to take part in an international choral festival they were told they must travel the 500km to Kiev to prove they were a choir before they would get their visas. More than 20 of them were lined up outside the consulate and, despite the cold, had to sing their repertoire of folk songs to prove they were not illegal migrants or potential terrorists.