The toughening of control at the external borders of the European Union is not connected with the provision of visa-free travel for Ukraine, the deputy head of the EU Department of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Serhiy Sayenko assured a Gorshenin Institute round table conference on 7 April.
The diplomat said that the decision of the European Union to strengthen security on its external borders is not aimed against Ukraine. The EU beefs up border security for own reasons and "there is no discrimination in that".
"Any person - from France, from Poland, etc. can be subjected to such control. This is a temporary way to strengthen the security of the European environment, first of all," Sayenko said.
The diplomat stressed that Ukraine does not possess a migration risk for the European Union.
On 7 March 2017, the European Council adopted a regulation amending the Schengen borders code to reinforce checks against relevant databases at the external borders. The amendment obliges member states to carry out systematic checks against relevant databases on all persons when they cross the external borders.
The checks will also enable member states to verify that those persons do not represent a threat to public policy, internal security or public health. This obligation shall apply at all external borders (air, sea and land borders), both at entry and exit.