BRUSSELS, May 11 - European Commissioner for Migration and Home Affairs Dimitris Avramopoulos sees in the EU Council's approval of a visa-free regime for Ukraine the recognition of successful reforms conducted by Kiev.

"One year ago, I was in Kiev to personally congratulate the Ukrainian government for the tremendous efforts they have made to implement the reforms set out under the visa liberalization process. Today, I am pleased to see that we are reaching the end of the process and I welcome the Council's adoption of visa liberalization for Ukraine – a final step towards visa-free travel to the Schengen area for Ukrainian citizens," EU Commission quotes in its communiqué Avramopoulos as saying.