Brussels: The European Council and the European Parliament announced on Tuesday that they had reached a preliminary agreement to amend the mechanism for suspending visa-free travel for citizens of non-EU countries. The move aims to enhance the EU's capacity to respond to misuse of visa-free travel or associated threats.
According to Kuwait News Agency, the amendment expands the grounds for suspension to include new situations, most notably, a lack of alignment between a third country's visa policy and that of the EU. This is particularly significant if the country is geographically close to the EU and is being used as a transit hub for migrants from other countries.
Other new grounds for suspension include the operation of investor citizenship schemes, hybrid threats, weaknesses in document security legislation and procedures, and a deterioration in foreign relations, particularly in cases of human rights violations or serious breaches of the UN Charter.
The agreement also sets new thresholds to trigger the mechanism, including a 30 percent increase in asylum applications, entry refusals, or overstays, and an asylum recognition rate not exceeding 20 percent.
Under the amendment, the initial suspension period would be extended from 9 to 12 months, with a possible extension of up to 24 additional months compared to 18 months under the current rules. If the concerned country fails to address the causes of the suspension, the EU could permanently revoke its visa-free status.
The revised mechanism would also allow targeted restrictions on government officials and diplomats responsible for human rights violations, instead of applying the suspension to all citizens of the concerned country.
The final agreement is expected to be formally approved by the EU's legislative bodies before entering into force.