The Movement for Freedom and the Office for a Democratic Belarus (Brussels) today sent out letters to all governments of the countries -- signatories to the Schengen Agreement with an appeal to re-examine their policies regarding fees and procedures of issuing Schengen visas for Belarusian citizens.
Addressing Ministers of Foreign and Internal Affairs, as well as several Heads of States, chairman of the Movement for Freedom Aliaksandr Milinkevich and director of the ODB Olga Stuzhinskaya describe difficulties experienced by Belarusians in obtaining EU visas after the expansion of the Schengen zone. The increased fee and the intensifying complexities of application procedures result into drastic decrease of the number of visas issued to citizens of Belarus, authors of the text say. The current situation fosters a sense of isolation of Belarusians and consolidates a negative image of the EU among them. The current visa policy, reads the letter, contradicts the European Union’s policy of engagement with Belarusian society and fuels the Belarusian authorities’ propaganda claiming that Europe “does not care” for Belarus.
Appeal of the Movement for Freedom and the Office for a Democratic Belarus has been supported by more than 70 associations and individuals.