A final round of Senior Officials’ negotiations to elaborate a list of Common Steps towards visa free short-term travel for Russian and EU citizens took place on 12 July 2011 in Brussels. Russian delegation was headed by Mr. Vladimir Voronkov, Director of the MFA’s Department for European Cooperation. The head of EU delegation was Mr. Stefano Manservisi, Director General for Home Affairs at the European Commission.
In the course of negotiations they managed to agree on the text of Common Steps, which is now to be presented to relevant authorities of both Parties for consideration and endorsement. The Russian side proceeds from the understanding that the implementation of Common Steps will be followed without any delay by elaboration and conclusion of an Agreement on Waiver of Visa Requirements for the Citizens of the Russian Federation and the European Union.