Softengi, as global software company, conducts a lot of business in Europe, which assumes close interactions with business partners and customers in EU. And it is essential for company’s representatives to be able quickly and flexibly travel to EU countries responding to customers’ needs. But in the last couple years things have definitely got more complicated resulting in tens of thousands Euros of direct loses and losing business to competitors.

“In German embassy we were requested to present correspondence with our business clients, which is commercially sensitive information,” says Alexey Turchin, Softengi’s Director of European Development. “Our clients, especially in the early stages of business development, can be very sensitive to the situation if our company can’t send a representative quickly and flexibly to meet them according to their schedule.”

“It is very frustrating. We had a very bad experience last year when we failed to get visas for 2 of our top professionals, and we are now facing another similar problem in a current negotiation,” continues Alexey. “Business is already tough enough without this extra bureaucratic burden. All we are asking for is simpler and faster procedures for professionals.”

Softengi already informed the EU Ukraine Business Council of such situation and prepares a note to Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and to European Commission.

According to James Wilson, a Director of the EU Ukraine Business Council, the question of simplifying and streamlining the visa procedures operated by member states is going to be one of the top priority questions at the next EU-Ukraine Co-operation Council next week. “Ukrainian business is clearly suffering from the current system, and whilst progress is being made elsewhere with visa facilitation for Russia and the Western Balkans, questions are being asked about the fairness of treatment for Ukrainian professionals facing visa application difficulties with the EU,” says James Wilson.