Russia and the European Union will sign agreements on simplifying visa and readmission regulations no later than the summit scheduled for May, an EU official said Wednesday.”We are planning to sign the agreements during the summit if not before it,” European Commission Vice President Franco Frattini said.

The Russia-EU summit is due to be held May 25 at the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

Russia and the EU agreed last year to ease visa regulations for certain categories of travelers, with the former pledging to readmit illegal immigrants deported from EU countries.

Frattini said the signing of the agreements would cut red tape in visa registration, reduce the costs of the procedure and facilitate contacts between people. He added that expert groups would work on the issue and that the EU expected the documents to come into effect by the end of the year.

Frattini said the signing would be a step toward visa-free travel, which was the ultimate objective.

Source: RIA Novosti