Ukraine is close to completing the first stage of the Visa Liberalization Action Plan with the European Union, the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine has said.

"Ukraine is doing as much as possible to complete the first [legal] phase of the Visa Liberalization Action Plan with the EU," Acting Director of the ministry's Information Policy Department Yevhen Perebyinis said at a press briefing on Wednesday.

He said that on May 14 the Ukrainian parliament passed a range of laws on the implementation of state anti-corruption policy and on the improvement of the personal data protection system – measures that are necessary for the promotion of a visa free dialogue between Ukraine and the EU.

"Thus, we only have to adopt several laws that would allow Ukraine to finish work on the third report on its progress in the fulfillment of the first phase of the Visa Liberalization Action Plan with the EU, which is to be submitted to the European side once the Verkhovna Rada passes the necessary legislation," he said.

Perebyinis added that as part of the European Commission's monitoring of the implementation of the EU-Ukraine Visa Facilitation Agreement, the Commission has launched public consultations in order to check whether Ukraine's diplomatic missions and consulates observe the EU Visa Code while issuing short-term entry visas into the Schengen Area to Ukrainians.