The European Parliament and Council teams have agreed to allow the EU to suspend visa-free travel for short stays into the union.
The decision comes after a reform of the mechanism to suspend short-stay visa-free travel into the EU was agreed upon, allowing the union to “respond more flexibly when countries backslide on important principles of their visa waiver agreement, which can include security concerns and human rights violations”.
The provisional agreement is yet to become law, as it needs to be formally adopted by both Parliament and Council.
In future, violations of the United Nations Charter, severe breaches of international human rights or humanitarian law, and not complying with international court decisions will be valid grounds for suspending visa freedom.
“This helps align the grounds for suspension with the grounds for granting the visa waiver in the first place, and can create a deterrent effect,” the European Parliament said.
With the new law, additional grounds for suspending the visa waiver will include hybrid threats, such as state-sponsored instrumentalisation of migrants aimed at destabilising or undermining society; and investor citizenship schemes (‘golden passports’), which raise security concerns. A country’s lack of alignment with EU visa policy, potentially making it a transit country for illegal entry into the EU, will also be a valid ground for suspending visa-free regimes. Existing grounds, including a lack of cooperation on readmissions, will be maintained.
