The Commission proposed in two Regulations on Wednesday 27 April to lift the visa requirement for nationals of Qatar and Kuwait, who will be able to travel to the EU with only a biometric passport for short stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period.
This proposal comes after the Commission “assessed a variety of criteria relating, inter alia, to illegal immigration, public policy and security, economic benefit, and the Union’s external relations with the relevant third countries”. And Qatar and Kuwait present “low irregular migration risks and (...) are increasing cooperation with the EU on security matters. They issue biometric passports, which is necessary for visa-free travel to the EU”.
Qatar and Kuwait are also important economic partners for the EU, especially in the field of energy, the Commission said in a statement. The proposal will be sent to the European Parliament and the Council of the EU.
The Commission could further extend the visa-free regime to the other countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, which also includes Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates. The EU already has visa-free regimes with more than 60 countries and territories and has a mechanism to suspend them.
Link to the proposals: https://aeur.eu/f/1dm (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)