EU updates mechanism allowing suspension of visa-free regime for third-country nationals
The Council of the European Union and the European Parliament reached an agreement on updating the mechanism that allows the EU to suspend the visa-free regime for citizens of third countries. About this it is said on the website of the Council of the EU.
According to the new rules, the list of grounds for such a decision has been expanded. Among them, the country’s introduction of a visa-free regime with other states, which can provoke an increase in the flow of illegal migrants to the EU, the issuance of passports in exchange for investments, problems with the security of documents or other hybrid threats, as well as the deterioration of relations with the European Union, in particular due to violations of human rights or the UN Charter.
Today, the EU has a visa-free regime with 61 countries that are not members of the bloc. Among them, 25 countries have signed agreements on the abolition of visas, another nine have received the right to a visa-free regime after the completion of negotiations on visa liberalization. This list includes Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and partially recognized Kosovo.
The term of the temporary suspension of the visa-free regime is proposed to be increased from the current nine to twelve months, with the possibility of an extension for another 24 months instead of the previous 18. If the restriction is extended, it will apply only to government officials and diplomats, and not to all citizens of the country.
At the same time, the European Commission will have the opportunity to initiate negotiations with the relevant country to eliminate the reasons that led to the use of the mechanism. If the conditions are not met, the EU will be able to completely cancel the visa-free regime. In addition, clear criteria for visa-free suspension have been defined. For example, a situation where the approval rate of asylum applications falls below 20%, or the number of refusals to enter increases by more than 30%, can be a reason.
