KIEV (Sputnik) – Ukrainian citizens’ 90-day visa-free travel to the EU member states came into force Sunday, Poroshenko said.

“Visa-free regime for Ukraine started working!” Poroshenko posted on his Facebook account.

On May 17, President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani and Malta’s Interior Minister Carmelo Abela, presiding at the Council of the European Union, signed a document on amending the bloc’s legislation to grant Ukrainians the 90-day visa-free regime, which entered into force at midnight local time on Sunday (21:00 GMT on Saturday). </s> BRUSSELS (Sputnik) — The signed document is expected to be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and after 20 days following the publication, the Ukrainians would be able to visit the 28-nation bloc without visas.

"My congratulations to every Ukrainian! Visa-free regime for Ukraine has been officially signed in the European Parliament," Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said on his Twitter account after the signing ceremony.

In April, the European Parliament approved the introduction of the visa-free regime for Ukrainian citizens for short-term travels to the EU member states. The visa-free entrance for Ukrainians would be available to all EU countries, except for Ireland, the United Kingdom, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

Ukraine has been striving for integration with the European Union for years. The two sides launched a dialogue on liberalization of the visa regime in 2008 and the bloc proposed Ukraine a road map concerning the issue in 2010. </s> BRUSSELS -- Representatives of the European Parliament and the European Council are due to sign a document in Strasbourg formalizing a long-awaited visa-liberalization deal with Ukraine.

After the signing on May 17, the visa-free regime is due to enter into force on June 11.

Ukrainian citizens who have biometric passports will be able to enter all EU member states apart from Ireland and the United Kingdom without a visa for up to 90 days during any 180-day period. It also applies to four Schengen-Area countries that are not in the EU: Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland.

After EU member states gave their approval on May 11, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said his country had "finalized its divorce from the Russian Empire."

Poroshenko's predecessor, Viktor Yanukovych, was pushed from power in 2014 by massive pro-European protests after he scrapped plans for a deal to tighten ties with the EU.

Russia then seized control of Ukraine's Crimea region and fomented separatism in eastern Ukraine, where a war between Russia-backed forces and the government has killed more than 9,900 people.

Visa-free EU travel began on March 28 for citizens of Georgia, another former Soviet republic that is under pressure from Russia. </s> "I would like to urge you to further deliver the reforms. The reforms require a lot of efforts. This means that you must continue carrying them out, this poses a lot of obligations, but it is very beneficial for you," Kiska said during the solemn joint address with Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko in the Zakarpats'ka region in western Ukraine.

Slovakia will continue supporting Ukraine on its way to Europe, Kiska added.

"Dear neighbors, welcome to Europe," the Slovak leader stressed.

The European Commission confirmed that Ukraine met all the necessary requirements for visa liberalization in December 2015, and on April 6, the European Parliament approved the introduction of the short-stay visa-free regime for Ukraine. Under the agreement, the Ukrainians will be able to enter the European Union without a visa for 90 days in a 180-day period for business purposes or tourism.

On May 17, President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani and Malta's Interior Minister Carmelo Abela, presiding at the Council of the European Union, signed a document on amending the bloc's legislation to grant visa-free regime for the Ukrainians. </s> President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko sings a legislative act on granting a visa-free regime to Ukraine (European Parliament, Strasbourg).

“In Strasbourg, on May 17 – as we agreed with our European friends – the relevant legislative act will be solemnly signed. This will probably be one of my most important visits during three years of my presidency,” the president’s statement on the occasion of of granting a visa-free regime to Ukraine. </s> Under the agreement, the Ukrainians will be able to enter the European Union without a visa for 90 days in a 180-day period for business purposes or tourism.

"Ukraine has delivered the reforms its citizens were asking for, and we in the European Union, we have kept our promise. This is what we call a win-win solution. It will create new opportunities for all of us strengthening our economies, our security and our friendship. And this is what our partnership is all about — making a difference to our citizens' everyday life," Mogherini said in a statement published by the European Commission's delegation to Ukraine on Facebook.

On May 17, President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani and Malta's Interior Minister Carmelo Abela, presiding at the Council of the European Union, signed a document on amending the bloc's legislation to grant visa-free regime for the Ukrainians. </s> BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union has moved a step closer to granting visa-free entry to citizens of Ukraine.

Negotiators from EU member countries and the European Parliament reached a deal late Tuesday to allow Ukrainians who have biometric passports to enter the EU for up to 90 days in any 180-day period.

The visa waiver will apply to all members of the 28-nation EU except Britain and Ireland. It won’t give Ukrainians the right to work in the EU.

The deal now has to be formally endorsed by the full European Parliament and by ministers from EU member countries.

European Parliament lawmaker Mariya Gabriel said that approving the visa waiver “is an important step forward toward reforming Ukrainian society by bringing people together, building bridges across borders.” </s> Negotiators for the European Parliament and European Union member states have reached a deal to allow Ukrainian citizens to enter the political bloc without a visa.

Ukrainian citizens who have biometric passports will be able to enter the EU for up to 90 days during any 180-day period, the parliament said in a statement on March 1. The entry is valid for business, tourism or family stays.

Ukrainians have eagerly awaited the advent of visa-free travel after being stuck in a conflict with Russia-backed separatists in the east for three years. They see the visa deal is a symbol of closer ties to the EU.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Twitter hailed the move as a "formal, but important step on the road."

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said earlier this month that visa liberalization between the EU and Ukraine is expected to come into force this summer.

The deal still has to be endorsed by parliament as a whole and the EU states.

Based on reporting by dpa, Interfax, and TASS </s> STRASBOURG -- Representatives of the European Parliament and the European Council have signed a document in Strasbourg formalizing a long-awaited visa-liberalization deal with Ukraine.

The deal was signed by the president of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, and Malta's Interior Minister Carmelo Abela. Malta currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, who was present at the ceremony, said the signing of the agreement represents a landmark in Ukraine's history.

"It is an absolutely historic day for Ukraine, for my 45 million nation, and I am absolutely confident that this is a historic day for the European Union," Poroshenko said after the signing.

"Ukraine returns to the European family. Ukraine says a final farewell to the Soviet and Russian Empire," he said.

Tajani said the visa liberalization was a "good message" to "very pro-European" Ukraine.

"The new rules on visa liberalization are the beginning of a new era," Tajani said.

EU member states gave their approval on May 11, and the visa-free regime is due to enter into force on June 11.

Ukrainian citizens who have biometric passports will be able to enter all EU member states other than Ireland and the United Kingdom without a visa for up to 90 days during any 180-day period. It also applies to four Schengen Area countries that are not in the EU: Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland.

Poroshenko's predecessor, Viktor Yanukovych, was pushed from power in 2014 by massive pro-European protests after he scrapped plans for a deal to tighten ties with the EU. Russia then seized control of Ukraine's Crimea region and fomented separatism in eastern Ukraine, where a war between Russia-backed forces and the government has killed more than 9,900 people.

Much of present-day Ukraine was part of the Russian Empire beginning in the 17th century, and Ukraine was under Moscow's thumb as a Soviet republic for most of the 20th century. It gained independence in the Soviet collapse of 1991.

Visa-free EU travel began on March 28 for citizens of Georgia, another former Soviet republic that is under pressure from Russia.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Marek Hajduk in Strasbourg and Rikard Jozwiak in Brussels </s> BRUSSELS -- Ukrainians are celebrating the first day of visa-free travel to most EU countries, which President Petro Poroshenko welcomed as a "a final exit of our country from the Russian Empire."

The liberalized regime entered into force on June 11, allowing Ukrainian citizens who have biometric passports to enter all EU member states other than Ireland and the United Kingdom without a visa for up to 90 days during any 180-day period. It also applies to four Schengen Area countries that are not in the EU: Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland.

Poroshenko met with Slovak his counterpart, Andrej Kiska, on the Slovak-Ukrainian border, opening a symbolic "door to the EU."

"We have waited so long for this," the Ukrainian president said at the Uzhhorod border crossing in the Zakarpattia region. "I am sure that this day, June 11, will go down in the history of Ukraine as a final exit of our country from the Russian empire and its return to the family of European nations. "Welcome to Europe," Kiska told the crowd attending the event. "I want to call on you to continue carrying out reforms."

"The visa-free regime for Ukraine has started! Glory to Europe! Glory to Ukraine!" Poroshenko earlier wrote on Twitter after hundreds of Ukrainians crossed the EU border.

WATCH: June 11 was the first day when the citizens of Ukraine could enter countries of the European Union without a visa. Passengers arriving in Brussels on a flight from Kyiv shared their positive feelings with RFE/RL correspondent Rikard Jozwiak.

"Flights to Warsaw, Budapest, Frankfurt, and Munich have successfully landed and passed passport control;) #Bezviz -- just the beginning!" Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin cheered on Twitter.

Thousands of people had crossed the border into EU countries by midday, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry's consular department wrote on Twitter.

Ukrainian travelers arriving in Brussels on June 11 said they were pleased about the ease with which they could now travel to Europe and the greater integration with the EU that it represented.



"It feels very good when you can travel without any restrictions, when you just need to have a passport and that's all. That feels very good," Ukrainian student Inna Teryokhina told RFE/RL at Brussels Airport.

Ukrainian border officials said they are expecting a 30 percent rise in passenger traffic at control sites along the frontier with the new regulations.

WATCH: ​The first Ukrainians arriving in the Czech Republic without visas were passengers on a June 11 morning flight from Odesa. RFE/RL interviewed some of them at Vaclav Havel international airport in Prague. (RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service)

Mykola Tochytskyi, the head of Ukraine's mission to the EU, told RFE/RL outside the European Parliament in Brussels on June 11 that "for Ukraine, today is a big day."



"It is not only about celebration; it is also a confirmation of our stand[ing]. To be with Europe. Not only outside of the region, but to be with Europe, to be a partner [who had] implemented all the benchmarks when it was decided to go for the visa-free regime," Tochytskyi said.

In a message on Twitter posted on June 11, European Council President Donald Tusk wrote, "A day to remember. Visa free travel for Ukrainians now a reality. Bringing us closer together."

In a video address, EU Commissioner for Enlargement Johannes Hahn said that visa-free travel was achieved after "a long process but finally the reform efforts paid off."



"This is a real milestone proving that the European Union delivers on its promises," he said. "Ukraine's commitment to the reform process will always result in tangible benefits for the citizens. This should be a motivation to stay on the reform course."

"Today, we bring down a barrier between the people of Ukraine and the people of the European Union," EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said in a video address released late on June 10.

"It will create new opportunities for all of us, strengthening our economies, or security, and our friendship," she also said. "And this is what our partnership is all about: making a difference to our citizens’ everyday life."

Hugues Mingarelli, head of the EU delegation to Ukraine, said at the ceremony that Ukrainians will be able "to travel to 33 countries of West Europe without any visa requirements."

Mingarelli said the visa-free regime was "just the first step" toward "intensifying relations" between the EU and Ukraine.

Poroshenko said on June 10 as he counted down the final 12 hours before the start of the travel regime that he believes Ukraine will become a member of both NATO and the EU, and that "nothing, nobody will ever stop us."

"The words 'back in the U.S.S.R.' will be heard only listening to The Beatles," Poroshenko said. "We will never return to the Soviet Union because we, a proud and free democratic nation, return to the family of European nations."

He said the "last sound of the countdown" will mark "the fall of not the concrete Berlin Wall but the paper curtain that has been separating Ukrainians from the European family for years."



"We must return Ukrainians their history. That is why today’s decision of the EU is so important. A long process has been completed. First of all, it goes about the return of Ukraine to its historic place among the European countries, not only about the visa-free border crossing," Poroshenko told the 1+1 television channel.

Poroshenko's predecessor, Viktor Yanukovych, was pushed from power in 2014 by massive pro-European protests after he scrapped plans for a deal to tighten ties with the EU. Russia then seized control of Ukraine's Crimea region and fomented separatism in eastern Ukraine, where a war between Russia-backed forces and the government has killed more than 9,900 people.

Much of present-day Ukraine was part of the Russian Empire beginning in the 17th century, and Ukraine was under Moscow's thumb as a Soviet republic for most of the 20th century. It gained independence in the Soviet collapse of 1991.

With reporting by Interfax, UNIAN, and euractiv.com
Representatives of the European Parliament and European Council sign a document formally granting Ukrainians visa-free travel to the European Union. The visa-free regime is due to enter into force on June 11.