Colombia signs deal for citizens to enter Schengen Area without visas

From Thursday onwards, Colombians will be able to travel throughout the Schengen Area without a visa, thanks to an agreement signed between the European Union and the South American nation. Peru, which began the process in tandem, will have to wait until April to finalize the deal due to delays in implementing a biometric passport system.

Federica Mogherini, the European Union¡¯s foreign policy chief, met with Peruvian President Ollanta Humala in Paris on Monday to ask the Andean government to make the ¡°effort¡± necessary to ¡°quickly conclude negotiations.¡± Sources in Brussels underscore that the only thing missing is technical: Peru must adopt a biometric passport system for security reasons.

The Spanish government formally requested that the European Union eliminate this requirement for Peru and Colombia in 2013

This agreement will allow Peruvians and Colombians to enter the Schengen Area ¨C a zone comprising 26 European countries that have abolished passport and any other type of border control at their common borders ¨C without a visa for up to 90 days. The Spanish government formally requested that the European Union eliminate this requirement for Peru and Colombia in 2013. Ecuador has just begun the process.

¡°Unfriendly¡± is the way Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos described the visa process to visit Europe as a tourist. Although EU authorities say they will still require information about where the visitor will stay, a return ticket and travel insurance, the Santos government congratulated themselves this week on acquiring the advantages that come with the deal. Mogherini called on Peruvian authorities ¡°to swiftly proceed to introduce biometric passports with the highest quality and security standards.¡± In both cases, current paper passports may be used to travel to Europe without a visa as well. The new regulations will apply to passports issued starting December 31.

Colombians had been required to carry a visa for fear that freedom of movement would favor drug traffickers and illegal immigration

EU, Colombian and Peruvian officials set the deal in motion during the European Union and Latin America and the Caribbean (EU-CELAC) summit held in Brussels in June. Colombians ¨C and soon Peruvians ¨C will be able to travel throughout the 26 Schengen countries (made up of 22 EU member states, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein), which will save them money and paperwork. Since 2001, Colombians had been required to carry a visa to visit Europe as tourists for fear that freedom of movement throughout the region would favor drug traffickers and illegal immigration.

In June, EU-CELAC leaders also signed a plan of action Europe hopes will help maintain its influence in Latin America, after years of looking to the East and then, more recently, managing the economic crisis. The European Union is the largest investor in the region with €505.7 billion in 2013, more than one-third of capital investment.

English version by Dyane Jean Francois.