The European Commission hailed Canada's decision to remove the necessity of applying for a visa for the Romanian and Bulgarian citizens as of December 1, after many diplomatic efforts and continuous negotiations at political and technical level between EU, Canada and Romania and Bulgaria.
"These are very good news for the Romanian and Bulgarian citizens: starting this Friday they will be able to travel to Canada without needing a visa. This is an example of very good collaboration between Romania, Bulgaria, EU and Canada," said the European Commissioner for regional policy Corina Cretu, according to a release remitted on Thursday by the Representative Office of the European Commission in Romania.
In his turn, the Commissioner for Migration, Citizenship and Home Affairs Dimitris Avramopoulos said: "Tomorrow is an important day for all Romanian and Bulgarian citizens who will now be able to travel without visas to Canada. The decision proves the fact that our diplomatic efforts and perseverance in the negotiations with the Canadian partners are fruitful. I want to thank all the parties involved - Romania, Bulgaria and, most importantly, Canada - for the sustained efforts and their perfect commitment in achieving this goal."