Ukraine, a former Soviet republic, has fostered closer ties with the EU since Moscow annexed its Black Sea peninsula of Crimea in 2014 and started backing rebels fighting Kiev`s troops in the east of the country.
Many difficulties to progress remain, not least Ukraine`s sluggish fight against endemic corruption and the EU`s caution on immigration after the arrival of about 1.3 million refugees and migrants in 2015, mainly from the Middle East and North Africa.
But, a week before an EU-Ukraine summit on Nov. 24, EU states gave their conditional backing to allowing Ukrainians to travel visa-free to the bloc for short visits.
Implementation, however, will take time as further negotiations are needed between the EU states, the European Parliament and the bloc`s executive European Commission.
The decision on Thursday also says visa liberalization for Ukraine should not take effect until after the bloc - wary of a repeat of last year`s refugee influx - rolls out a beefed-up mechanism to lift any visa waivers in case of emergency.
Talks on the so-called suspension mechanism have been making slow progress and diplomats say it could take weeks before it is in place.
EU states agree visa-free travel for Ukraine, but not yet
18 November 2016
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European Union states agreed on Thursday to waive visas for Ukrainians on short visits, but only after the bloc beefs up a mechanism to suspend visa-free agreements in an emergency.
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