EU exempts Moldova from visa requirement

Following the European Commission''''s proposal, the European Parliament and the EU Council of Ministers Thursday took the final formal step to transfer Moldova to the list of third countries whose nationals are exempt from visa requirement. It is expected that the decision will enter into force on 28 April, thereby abolishing visa requirements for Moldovan citizens who want to travel to the Schengen zone for a short-stay and hold a biometric passport. "By the end of the month Moldovan citizens with a biometric passport will not need a visa anymore to travel to the Schengen zone for short-stays. This is a great achievement and the beginning of a new chapter in our relations," EU Commissioner for Home Affairs , Cecilia Malmstrom, said in a statement. The EU had launched the Visa Dialogue with Moldova on June 2010, and less than four years later travelling to the Schengen zone without a visa will become a reality for Moldovan citizens, she added