Visa Policy: Preparations for EURO 2012 Moving in the Right Direction
Peter Dutczyn
With four new or modernized stadiums now successfully open and operating in Ukraine and preparations — transport, accommodation, PR and other — in full swing, the focus is firmly on the amenities to be enjoyed by fans.
The Ukrainian authorities know that the finishing touches to the new Arena Lvov and the capital’s Olympic Stadium have to be made to make football fans, especially the seasoned diehards, happy with what they see and enjoy. And after the draw on 2 December we now know where who will play who and where, and so supporters will already be making more precise plans. The split of games between the two countries is exactly 50:50. Poland will open proceedings on 8 June in Warsaw while Kiev will host the final on 1 Sunday July. In between, the four cities in each will stage the group games and two quarter-final games and a semi-final each. This article will look at the visa and border crossing issues involved in enabling over 1 million fans to see the 31 games at next summer’s football festival.
The first point of contact for visitors is a country’s border and customs authorities and this is crucial for both sides. Why so? Mainly due to cultivating a positive image to the watching world and partly because of the old adage “you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression”.
And certainly the Ukrainian State Customs Service and Border Service have given many of their employees foreign language training. After all, no-one needs things to be “lost in translation”. The basis of any visa policy, both in theory and practice, is to let desirable people in and to keep undesirable people out. In this case, visiting fans.
Of course, the undesirables can range from criminals and terrorists to football hooligans bent on causing trouble and violence. The role of Europol is crucial here. Existing cooperation covers the football associations of various nations and police forces interacting to provide lists of potential and convicted troublemakers. Logistics at the last European championships, EURO 2008, also a duel effort, between EU neighbours Austria and Switzerland, were much more straightforward. After all, both are members of the EU. Despite the efforts of Ukrainian politicians in recent years the country’s citizens do not have visa-free travel. Pavlo Shysholin, first deputy chairman of the State Border Service, has confirmed the extra workload the Euro will bring. Speaking in an interview with the Information Centre Ukraine–2012 in March, he said he expected passenger traffic across the border would increase by an average of 40%. Mostly — in airports, by approximately 70%, and at road and rail cross points by 35% and 15%, respectively. Most Russian supporters are expected to come by road.
The priorities for his agency are speed and security of crossing, as well as the behavior and attitude of staff and the comfort of guests. And Mr. Shysholin noted the level of cooperation. Ukrainian and Polish border guards will work together, so passengers will stop for control at the border only once, will be checked and then they will move without delay at the second checkpoint. Such control will be introduced at all checkpoints by the Championship. There are also plans to organize preliminary control. The State Border Service will receive lists of passengers from airlines in advance in order to register them in the plane, as they get off the aircraft and in the terminals. And there will be extra provision made for fans. Separate individual traffic lanes will be allocated for cars passing through at crossing points and there will be special lines at airports.
To service fans the throughput of Terminal D at Boryspil Airport will be raised to 3,000 passengers an hour. To optimize movement a processor capable of simultaneously conducting registration of 90 flights is in place. Sixty separate booths will be in place for departure and 60 for arrival to avoid queues at passport control.
To Poland and back
In the co-hosts, Ukraine and Poland, we have recent EU member Poland and aspiring (associate) member Ukraine. The two have a joint border, Ukraine’s western and Poland’s eastern.
EU passport holders can stay a maximum 90 days in Ukraine.
Poland has agreed to simplify the issue of visas to Ukrainians during EURO 2012. Back in August 2011 it was announced that there are plans to issue visas for Ukrainian fans on the basis of tickets for football matches.
The expiry dates for visas will be determined depending on the type of ticket. That is, a single game or a package of matches. Talks held between the two sides have also included the matter of crossing state borders during the championship and setting up joint consular offices to provide advice for travelers. The same applies to Russian fans for games in Poland, though not for games in Ukraine. Ukraine and Russia are the only two former Soviet republics taking part in the finals. But progress on cooperation on border control and visas is being made.
Marcin Herra, who heads the PL.2012 agency preparing Poland for the event, is optimistic. He said last month that the level of cooperation between Poland and Ukraine is good and the tournament itself is a good opportunity for both countries to improve their international image. According to the PL.2012 chief, more and more joint Polish–Ukrainian projects are being implemented. He singled out the testing of border control points. In fact, tests have already been completed. Instead of separate document checks the two countries are establishing joint passport control, and this will significantly improve the process of movement between the two.
Visa cul-de-sac
Ukrainian passport holders and Russian ones will have to have a valid visa to get to Poland.
The visa-free travel action plan which President V.Yanukovych brought home from the EU–Ukraine summit in Brussels on 22 November 2010 has not been implemented yet, so the European Union is unable to consider waiving visas for Ukrainians. New biometric passports need to be issued to achieve visa-free travel. There is political inaction on this issue. Another element of the action plan is the need for Ukraine to amend its migration legislation, in particular on repatriation of illegal migrants. Back in 2008 and 2009 senior Ukrainian officials had voiced hopes that visa-free travel would be in place before the first ball is kicked at EURO 2012. Pro-presidential Party of Regions MP Leonid Kozhara said as much back in November 2010. He said Ukrainians would travel to Europe without visas by EURO 2012, as everything is ready for the introduction of biometric passports. Unfortunately, this has not been the case. It seems it will take time to restore Europe’s trust in Ukraine as a free and democratic state.
Back in 2010 talks between senior Ukrainian and Polish politicians focused on obtaining a more liberal visa regime in the EU for Ukrainian nationals and creating a special visa-free regime for EURO 2012. The aim was to ensure such cooperation would start as soon as possible in order to make it possible to take advantage of Poland’s EU presidency. Poland is probably the biggest lobbyist of Ukrainian interests in the EU. And even earlier, back in December 2009, then Ukrainian Foreign Minister Petro Poroshenko was optimistic visa-free travel with the EU by 2012 was on the cards. “This means that de facto a road map has been created between Ukraine and the EU. The road map envisages that Ukraine does its part of the work. The EU made a political decision on launching dialogue on visa-free travel and this means that if it works hard this is guaranteed by 2012,” Mr. Poroshenko said.
An earlier deal, the Ukrainian–Polish transborder agreement, came into force on 1 July 2009. However, it only applies to residents of the 30 km zone at the western border can travel to Poland without visas.
It came as the result of an accord signed in the spring of 2008. Security is an issue. Police officers from European forces have been advising Ukrainian football authorities and the police on how to control football crowds. England and Germany have invaluable experience. And back in November 2010 visiting Israeli President Shimon Peres told Viktor Yanukovych that his country was willing to help Ukraine ensure security and order during the tournament.
By way of conclusion
Ukraine and Poland are facing an unprecedented influx of people for the time of the Championship. For Ukraine it is bigger than handling the Eurovision Song Contest in 2005 and the Papal visit of 2001. Preparations seem on course but much will depend on the quick and efficient work of Ukrainian border guards. And the raising of Ukraine’s image around the world depends greatly on this.
