Visa-Free Regime Between Russia And European Union May Become Reality?

While summing up the results of his three-day official visit to Italy, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov stated that during the term of its chairmanship in the European Union Italy would actively attempt to introduce a visa-free regime for Russian citizens and EU countries.

Italy will commence its chairmanship in the European Union from July 1 this year.

The Russian premier reported that the matter of implementation of the initiative regarding the visa-free regime between Russia and the EU was considered at the Rome negotiations with chairman of the Italian Council of Ministers Silvio Berlusconi. According to him, they discussed possible terms and means to achieve that.

The head of the Russian government also indicated that at the negotiations much attention was paid to the creation of a single economic space of Russia and the European Union. According to him, first of all the talk was about the identification of Russian laws and laws of the EU countries. He stated that the idea to establish a single economic space with Europe might significantly facilitate the negotiating process regarding Russia's entry into the World Trade Organization.

According to him, the Italian leadership shared the Russia's position that low internal prices on energy resources in Russia were justified. The Russian premier stated that it was a natural advantage and Italy agreed with that.