Brussels, 08/04/2016 (Agence Europe) - On12 April, the EU College of Commissioners will discuss, as requested by Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, the situation regarding visa-free travel for European passport-holders wishing to travel to the United States and Canada, since the two countries have still not lifted their visa requirements for Bulgarians, Croats, Poles, Cypriots or Romanians (the United States) or Bulgarians and Romanians (Canada).
Since the visa regulation came into force in 2001, forseeing a reciprocal mechanism, the Commission's aim has been to move in the direction of full, direct reciprocity, but has not been able to achieve it, despite much negotiation.
At the end of 2015, the United States decided to tighten its requirements for European citizens from countries for which it does not require a visa (France and Belgium, for instance) to ward off European jihadi fighters.
Reuters reported on Thursday 7 April that as a reprisal, on 12 April, the Commission may decide to impose visa requirements on US and Canadian citizens wishing to travel to the Schengen Area. Quizzed about this on 8 April, the Commission said that the reintroduction of visa requirements for the two countries is foreseen under Regulation 539/2001 on third country passport-holders requiring a visa to enter the EU, which covers a reciprocity mechanism.
Under the mechanism, the Commission is required to unveil a delegated act suspending visa exemptions for twelve months for a non-EU country benefitting from visa exemptions in the EU but failing to apply this in the same way for European passport-holders. Alternatively, the Commission is required to product a report explaining why it has not produced a delegated act.
The regulation is clear that the obligation is on the Commission to produce the delegated act on suspension of visa-free travel if the third country does not lift its visa obligation within twelve months of publication of the notification by the member state in question, as in the present case.
This 24-month deadline ends in mid-April and Jean-Claude Juncker has therefore decided to hold a policy debate on the subject, said Commission spokesperson Mina Andreeva. The delegated act would temporarily suspend visa-free travel for these countries but can be rejected by the council and European Parliament within four months of its adoption, added the Commission. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)