site.btaEC Welcomes Lifting of Canadian Visas for Bulgarian and Romanian Citizens as of 1 December

Brussels, November 30 (BTA corr. Nikolay Jeliazkov) - The European Commission (EC) Thursday welcomed the forthcoming decision by Canada to lift visa requirements for Bulgarian and Romanian citizens as of 1 December, the EC said.

The decision comes after intensive diplomatic efforts and continued engagement at political and technical levels between the EU, Canada and the two Member States, Bulgaria and Romania.

Commissioner for Migration, Citizenship and Home Affairs Dimitris Avramopoulos said that December 1 "is a great day for all Romanian and Bulgarian citizens, who will now be able to enjoy visa-free travel to Canada. This decision shows that our diplomatic efforts and patient work with our Canadian partners are bearing fruit. I would like to thank all the parties involved - Bulgaria, Romania and most importantly Canada - for their sustained effort and great commitment to making this happen. Achieving full visa reciprocity for all EU citizens is our priority and we will continue to work hard with our Member States and our external partners to deliver tangible results, as we did today."

Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Cretu said: "This is great news for Romanian and Bulgarian citizens; as of this Friday, they will be able to travel to Canada without the hassle of applying for a visa. Great teamwork between Romania, Bulgaria, Canada and the EU."

Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society Mariya Gabriel said: "I am very happy with this decision. It is a strong signal for Bulgarian and Romanian citizens and the outside world that Europe is united and determined and that there are no second-class Europeans."

Following cooperative discussions towards reciprocal and secure visa-free travel with Canada, visa requirements for some categories of Bulgarian and Romanian citizens were lifted on 1 May 2017. With the forthcoming decision, a further positive result of the EC's efforts to achieve visa-free travel for all its citizens, the remaining visa requirements for short stays will be removed altogether.