"Following the European Parliament approval in October, the EU Council agreed new rules on Monday that will enable the EU to revoke the visa-free status to countries that do not align with the EU's visa policy, in other words those that allow third country nationals to arrive legally on their territory and then enter EU countries irregularly. Visa-free status would also be revoked for countries that run citizenship by investment schemes."
"Europe remains the world's most visited continent by tourists and business travellers alike, and our visa policy is therefore one of our strongest foreign policy tools. "With a modernised suspension mechanism, the EU will be able to suspend visa-free travel in the case of serious human rights violations, and can target suspensions at government officials or other groups. The visa-free regime can be suspended first temporarily and then permanently."
Visa-free travel currently covers Albania, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Nicaragua, New Zealand, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates. A suspension mechanism has existed since 2013 allowing member states to temporarily suspend visa exemptions to address abuses. New rules allow the EU to revoke visa-free status for countries that enable irregular entry into the EU, run citizenship-by-investment schemes, commit serious human-rights violations, or carry out hostile acts such as cyber operations, economic espionage, or sabotage of critical infrastructure. Initial suspension increases from nine to twelve months and can be extended by 24 months before permanent revocation; suspensions can be targeted at officials or groups.
#eu-visa-policy #visa-waiver-suspension #irregular-migration #national-security #citizenship-by-investment
Read at www.thelocal.com
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