EU, Colombia lift short-stay visa requirements

Brussels (dpa) - Colombian and EU citizens visiting one another‘s territories will from this week no longer require visas, under an agreement signed Wednesday.The visa waiver will provisionally come into force on Thursday, granting visa-free travel for EU citizens to Colombia and for Colombians visiting the bloc for stays of up to 90 days within a 180-day period."This agreement will bring the people of Colombia and the EU closer together," said Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn, who signed the waiver along with EU Home Affairs Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos. Luxembourg holds the EU‘s rotating presidency.The deal is expected to boost tourism and business ties between the EU and Colombia, which has been wracked by decades of conflict between government forces and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia guerilla group. The two sides are working on a peace accord.The visa waiver agreement was signed on behalf of Colombia by Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguin, in the presence of President Juan Manuel Santos."We have opened the doors to all Colombians who want to come to Europe legally," Santos said, adding that they will finally be able to visit relatives living in the EU. There was no discussion about Colombians illegally living in the bloc, he added, noting that this is "not an easy issue."Britain and Ireland are excluded from the deal, meaning that those countries can still set their own visa rules for Colombian citizens, and vice versa.The decision needs to be vetted by the European Parliament, a step that is expected to be a formality.