Thousands of youth from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova, Ukraine and Turkey still waste time and money to receive their visa to follow a training, seminar, conference or university studies in the EU or just to travel to meet up with friends and family. The Young European Federalists (JEF Europe) supports the multicultural development and mobility of youth which is essential in promoting a sense of belonging to Europe, enhancing social exchange and ensuring a friendly and tolerant society on the European continent. That’s why JEF-Europe continues its annual action “against borders between European countries”, and calls for a “visa-free Europe!”

“Visa-free Europe is an action that is organized by JEF-Europe every year to show our support in particular for young people who want to travel without barriers and develop their countries and societies in a democratic and open-minded spirit. We want to see our friends from all over Europe at different international events without them needing to worry about visa letters, spending time in front of embassies and facing delays of visa delivery. Europe needs to be equal for all Europeans and to respect the freedom of movement of all of them” stressed Philippe Adriaenssens, President of JEF- Europe.

The aim of the Visa-free Europe Action 2011 is to encourage all European Citizens and especially the European institutions to support those countries which are on their path to enhance democratic standards and guarantee the respect of security and legal requirements in order to work towards an abolishment of the visa regime.

“Today’s Europe is more than a geographical territory – it is an identity for millions of people who share values as democracy, freedom of expression and movement, human rights, multiculturalism and multilingualism. Europe is all people who have families living in different corners of the continent and who travel to find out more about culture, history, sport, music, dance, science, voluntary work, health and business. Today, a visa is an unnecessary paper which restricts youth movements, personal and social development, friendship and face-to-face communication for millions of people”, explained Daniela Vidaicu, the coordinator of the Visa-free Europe Action 2011.

Mobility is broadly seen as having an intense educational impact in two respects: as the prime mechanism for fostering European Citizenship and pluralist societies on the one hand and as a prime asset for a competitive labour market along the lines of the 2020 strategy on the other hand. JEF-Europe denounces the visa system and calls on the European Commission to support the countries in question to move towards its cancellation.

JEF-Europe organised on 29–30 September 2011 its annual Visa-free Europe Action when the Eastern Partnership Summit was held in Poland in order to raise awareness about the importance of the abolishment of borders between European countries and offer the right to all Europeans to travel and move freely on their continent.