Sunday, May 25, 2008

Slovakia, Ukraine to sign agreement on local border traffic

Slovakia and Ukraine will sign an agreement on local border traffic. The Slovakian government approved a respective bill during its meeting on May 21. The document is to be signed in Bratislava on May 23.

The document foresees conditions for crossing the Ukrainian-Slovakian border, the maximum radius of the border area, in which locals could stay, as well as crossing points of the state border. The agreement also foresees that citizens could stay only for 30 days within a 50-kilometer radius from the border, and for no more than 90 days in six months if they cross the border many times. A permit for crossing the border may be valid from one to five years and will cost EUR 20.

The bill approved by the Slovakian government will be agreed with a Commission of the European Union until it is considered by the Slovakian parliament.

UKRINFORM earlier reported that Slovakia and Ukraine had initialed a draft agreement on local border traffic in Bratislava on December 20, 2007. The internal procedures that are necessary for signing the document are currently being conducted in both countries. According to earlier reports by the Slovakian Foreign Ministry, an agreement on local border traffic may come into force in the autumn of 2008.