site.btaOttawa Confirms Visa Waiver for Bulgarians, Romanians in 2017 in Exchange for Support for CETA

Ottawa Confirms Visa Waiver  for Bulgarians, Romanians  in 2017 in Exchange for Support for CETA

Brussels, October 21 (BTA Correspondent Nikolay Jeliazkov) - Bulgaria and Romania are withdrawing their objections against the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), after receiving written confirmation from Ottawa that visa requirements for Bulgarian and Romanian citizens will be lifted at the end of 2017, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov told journalists here on Friday, where he attended a meeting of the European Council.

Despite the withdrawal of the two countries' objections, however, the EU and Canada failed to sign the trade deal in Brussels on Friday as the Belgian Province of Wallonia continued to reject CETA. Reuters quoted a European Commission source as saying that talks with Wallonia have halted but that was not the end of the process.

"We worked all night with the European Commission and, together with the Romanian President and the Commission, we received proper written confirmations that the visa regime with Canada will be lifted for Bulgarian citizens by December 1, 2017," Borissov explained, adding that he and Romania's President have decided to support CETA, like all the other EU countries.

Asked to comment Wallonia's rejection of CETA, which remains the only obstacle to signing the treaty, Borissov said that such actions are becoming a dangerous precedent, recalling what happened with Schengen and how one country stopped Bulgaria and Romania. "This will become fashionable and is very dangerous for the EU," Borissov said.

Bulgaria and Canada both have much to offer in terms of geography, nature and history, which is good for tourism, business and all those who feel like they belong to the world, the Prime Minister said, commenting on the expected lifting of Canadian visas. He explained that now there are clear guarantees from the EC and the Council that the visa waiver for Bulgarians and Romanians is a key factor in CETA.

After it transpired that the signing of CETA had failed, the news media in Brussels quoted EC President Jean-Claude Juncker as saying that Canada's visa liberalization will work only if CETA is adopted.