EU States, Parliament Remove Key Obstacle To Visa-Free Travel For Ukraine, Georgia
European Union member states and the European Parliament have struck a deal to end a dispute that had been holding up a decision to allow Ukrainians and Georgians to visit the bloc without needing a visa.
"This agreement is balanced and is extremely important for both the effectiveness and credibility of the union's visa liberalization policy,” a December 8 statement quoted European Council President Robert Kalinak as saying.
The statement said EU countries and lawmakers agreed to a compromise text on a regulation to strengthen the suspension mechanism that can be applied to all visa-liberalization agreements in emergencies.
The regulation now has to be submitted to the European Parliament for a vote at first reading and to the European Council for adoption.
Ukraine and Georgia are seeking greater integration with the West but have been frustrated with the pace of EU moves to bring them closer.
Both former Soviet republics have faced military aggression from Russia in recent years, as well as other efforts by Moscow to increase its influence.
With reporting by RFE/RL's Rikard Jozwiak and Reuters
UN: East Ukraine's Civilians Face 'Host Of Rights Violations'
By RFE/RL
The United Nations says civilians in eastern Ukraine are facing "a host of human rights violations" due to the "failure" by the parties to the conflict between government forces and Russia-backed separatists to implement a peace accord signed in February 2015.
In a report published on December 8, the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said people living close to the "contact line" between government-controlled and separatist-held territory were the hardest hit.
These civilians "suffer from a serious lack of security due to military engagement near their homes, the threat of mines and unexploded ordnance, and severe and disproportionate restrictions on their freedom of movement," it said.
The report also said separatist groups controlling parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions "continue to deprive people of their basic rights and of any effective mechanism for redress."
The report covers the period between August 16 and November 15 and includes documented information based on interviews with witnesses and victims.
During the period, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine recorded 32 conflict-related civilian deaths and 132 injuries.
As of December 1, the UN's "conservative estimate" of the death toll among civilians and combatants since the conflict erupted in April 2014 is 9,758, with another 22,779 people injured.
Here is today's map of the security situation in eastern Ukraine, according to the National Security and Defense Council:
