Canada to announce schedule for waiving visas for Romanians and Bulgarians in autumn

It is expected that Canada would announce a schedule in the autumn for waiving visas for citizens of Bulgaria and Romania. This matter became unambiguous following a meeting in Brussels on visa reciprocity on 11 July. Hosted by Dimitris Avramopoulos (European Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship), the meeting was attended by representatives of Bulgaria, Romania and Canada. Philip Gounev (Bulgarian Deputy Interior Minister), Rumen Alexandrov, (Romanian Deputy Foreign Minister) and John McCallum (Canadian Minister for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship), were also among those present. McCallum thanked the governments of Bulgaria and Romania for their continuous cooperation in backing up the process of assessment. Avramopoulos was unequivocal in his stance that complete visa reciprocity for all the EU member states was the mission of the Union. McCallum, on his part, promised that he would make the results of the assessment known in autumn and would provide schedules for waiving visas. Meanwhile, the Bulgarian representatives reposed confidence in the EC, hoping that the latter would take all the required action in order that Bulgarians would enjoy visa-free travel to Canada.