I

ndonesia has proposed a visa waiver for short visits to Schengen member states in Europe for Indonesian citizens, according to Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi.

The proposal was delivered to EU foreign relations representative Frederica Mogherini on the sidelines of the EU-ASEAN ministerial meeting in Luxembourg.

The European Commission has reportedly included Indonesia in a list of countries proposed for review by the European Council.

Indonesia'€™s proposal will be submitted to the council early next year.

It will be subject to an assessment by the three main regulating bodies of the Schengen visa '€” Frontex, Europol and EASO '€” before the council can submit a proposal to amend Indonesia'€™s visa waiver status.

Separately, ministry spokesperson Arrmanatha Nasir said the government would continue to push for visa waivers with other countries, including those from the EU, as a form of reciprocity for giving them visa-free arrangements with Indonesia.

'€œThe basis for the Schengen-free proposal is that Indonesian immigration issues make up less than 1 percent of overall cases, if I'€™m not mistaken. So we think that reciprocity can be further supported by our proposal,'€
Arrmanatha said in Jakarta on Thursday.

In addition to the Schengen visa issue, Retno said the meeting also discussed the Indonesia-European Union (EU) Voluntary Partnership Agreement on Forests, Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT'€“VPA), which is intended for implementation by the end of this year.

'€œThe full implementation of the agreement and regulations with the EU will allow the private sector to participate in the timber legalizing system. The entire process will decrease the usage and trade of illegal timber,'€ Retno said in a press statement on Thursday.