In brief

• Moldova's prime minister has confirmed the country intends to align its visa policy with the EU's, which would mean visas for citizens of Russia, Belarus and China, among others.
• No date has been set for the change.
• A European Commission report lists 11 countries whose visa rules Moldova must still align.
• Visa alignment is one of the conditions in Moldova's EU accession talks.

Visa policy tied to EU accession

Moldovan Prime Minister Vasile Tofan has confirmed that the country plans to join the European Union's visa policy (Тофан підтвердив, що Молдова має намір ввести візи для росіян та білорусів – Європейська правда). Joining that policy would mean introducing visa requirements for citizens of several countries, including Russia, Belarus and China.

Tofan said the move follows from obligations Moldova has taken on as part of European integration. He said he was not ready to name a specific date, but argued that if EU rules are binding, Moldova must take decisions that move the accession process forward (Еще одна страна может отменить безвизовый режим для белорусов ради вступления в ЕС – Charter 97).

Scope of the requirement

According to a European Commission report, Moldova still has to bring its visa regime into line with EU rules for 11 countries (Премьер Молдовы допустил введение виз для беларусов – Reform.news). Besides Belarus and Russia, the list includes Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Qatar, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Vanuatu. Citizens of all these states can currently enter Moldova without a visa.

Harmonisation with Schengen standards

Aligning visa rules with Schengen Area standards is one of the conditions in Moldova's accession talks with the EU. Other candidate countries have already introduced similar restrictions. Montenegro, for example, imposed a visa regime for citizens of Belarus, China, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Turkey from 1 November.

Accession race with Ukraine

EU roadmaps have recognised that Moldova has moved ahead of Ukraine on the path to membership. Adrian Balutsel, head of the parliamentary European integration committee, said Moldova does not see the process as a race with Ukraine and hopes both countries will succeed in joining the bloc.