8 Nov 2012

PNG and Fiji off initial EU list for visa-free access

7:29 pm on 8 November 2012

The European Union has excluded Fiji and Papua New Guinea from its plans to drop visa requirements for Pacific Island countries.

A senior EU official in Suva says because Fiji and PNG are larger nations, the European Commission considers they are in a different league to the region's small island states set to get better access.

Adam Janssen says travellers and traders from ten Pacific countries won't need a visa if they stay in Europe for less than three months.

"The Fijians and PNG are big countries compared to the small island states and they were considered to be under a different category. For the moment it's only the small island countries in the Pacific and the Caribbean who were put to the list."

Adam Janssen says the Commission may add Fiji and Papua New Guinea to the list of countries with free access to Europe when it sees the time is fit.