Ukraine is considering reimposing visas for European Union citizens, Reuters quoted a top presidential aide as saying today, complaining of "humiliating" visa procedures for Ukrainians travelling to the EU. Ex-Soviet Ukraine scrapped visas for citizens of EU member states and several other countries after the 2004 "Orange Revolution" which brought President Viktor Yushchenko and a western-leaning political elite to power vowing EU integration. "Practically every single Ukrainian, who either for business or tourism wants to go to Europe, can tell you a horror story," Viktor Baloga, Yushchenko's chief of staff, said in a statement. "Such treatment is humiliating and clearly contradicts the spirit of the agreements reached between Kiev and Brussels." The EU says it has made visas easier to get since the start of last year but Ukrainians say the situation actually worsened with the expansion of the bloc's free-travel Schengen zone -- and its stricter visa requirements -- to its eastern members. Ukrainians have to collect a bundle of documents including birth certificates, statements from their employers, bank statements for several months and proof of home ownership.
