On Wednesday 19 March, the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties adopted the draft position on the new grounds for suspending visa exemptions for short stays in the EU by 41 votes to 10, with 21 abstentions.
Instrumentalisation, golden passports and violations of international law are added as grounds for suspending visa-free regimes for third-country nationals.
The Council of the EU validated its mandate in March 2024 (see EUROPE 13370/12) and tightened up the Commission’s proposal by adding new suspension criteria, such as the instrumentalisation of migration, the non-alignment of visa policies or the practice of investment schemes in exchange for citizenship.
A country’s failure to align with EU visa policy, which potentially makes it a transit country for illegal entry into the EU, will also be a valid ground for suspending visa-free regimes, according to the European Parliament’s position. The existing grounds, including lack of cooperation on readmission, will be maintained.
However, in their amendments to the proposal, the MEPs also want to see additional grounds for suspension of the visa waiver, in particular violations of the United Nations Charter and serious violations of human rights or international humanitarian law.
Diplomatic officials and agents of governments and states holding service passports, who bear primary responsibility for these violations, would be the priority targets of visa suspension, summarises a press release. MEPs also propose that failure to apply EU sanctions and hostile acts against Member States could also be grounds for suspension.
Currently, a “substantial” increase in the number of people staying without authorisation, the number of asylum applications from a country with a low recognition rate or serious criminal offences may also result in the suspension of visa freedom. MEPs want to lower the threshold for assessing such an increase from 50% to 40%.
This vote also paves the way for negotiations with the Council of the EU, which the MEPs approved by 59 votes in favour, 9 against and 4 abstentions. The European Parliament’s position should in principle be validated in plenary at the beginning of April.
Link to the adopted text: https://aeur.eu/f/g0f (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)