What changed between the draft committee report and the plenary report

Removed:Recital 2: (2) The mechanism for the temporary suspension of the exemption from the visa requirement for the nationals of a third country listed in Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 (‘the suspension mechanism’) should be strengthened for the Union to have at its disposal a more efficient safeguard aimed at preventing a wider range of irregular migration, public policy and security risks arising from the third countries listed in that Annex II, as well as the abuse of the visa exemption through the operation of investor citizenship schemes by those third countries, and the non-compliance with the specific requirements, in particular those set out with respect to the Union's external relations with the relevant third country, including, considerations of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Added:Recital 1 a (new): (1a) Visa-free travel brings significant benefits to the Union and third countries alike. Economic, social and cultural relations with third countries create prosperity and establish the Union as an open and free bloc. The Union’s common visa policy, in that regard, is a cornerstone of its engagement with third countries. At the same time, the evolving geopolitical context has brought new challenges linked to visa-free travel. Abuse of, and security risks resulting from, visa-free travel to the Union require a swift and adequate response. It is imperative that the Union be equipped to deal with those challenges accordingly.

Removed:Recital 6 a (new): (6a) It should be possible to trigger the suspension mechanism in cases related to the Union's external relations with the relevant third country, including, in particular, considerations of human rights and fundamental freedoms. Such considerations should include breach of bilateral or multilateral agreements between the Union or the Union and the Member States, on the one hand, and the relevant third country, on the other; serious breaches of international law and standards, including international human rights law, by the relevant third country, including non-compliance with international court decisions and rulings; hostile acts or aggression against one or more Member States or the Union by the relevant third country; serious human rights violations, including criminalisation of abortion and LGBTQ+ persons, and the introduction or the use of death penalty by the relevant third country; and non-compliance with relevant Union sanctions in relation to the relevant third country.

Added:Recital 2: (2) In order to address the new challenges linked to visa-free travel, the mechanism for the temporary suspension of the exemption from the visa requirement for the nationals of a third country listed in Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 (‘the suspension mechanism’) should be strengthened for the Union to have at its disposal a more efficient safeguard aimed at preventing a wider range of risks arising from the third countries listed in that Annex II, as well as the abuse of the visa exemption through the operation of investor citizenship schemes by those third countries.

Added:Recital 3: (3) In particular, the use of the suspension mechanism should be facilitated by broadening the possible grounds for suspension, making the relevant procedures more precise and strengthening the Commission’s monitoring and reporting obligations. Furthermore, the Commission should assess the overall impact of visa suspensions, including on reciprocity.

Added:Recital 4: (4) The Union has concluded a number of agreements on the short-stay visa waiver with countries listed in Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 which may include different grounds for suspension or different procedures than the ones set out in the suspension mechanism. It should be possible for the Union to suspend the visa-free regime established by those agreements by means of a generally applicable legal act of the Union. For that reason, the relevant grounds for suspension set out in those agreements should be included in the suspension mechanism. However, the use of the grounds for suspension set out in a short-stay visa waiver agreement should be limited to the scope of application of that agreement.

Added:Recital 5: (5) Due to a need to ensure an immediate and appropriate response to hybrid threats in line with Union law and international obligations, it should be possible to trigger the suspension mechanism in case of risks or threats to the public policy or internal security of the Member States arising from hybrid threats such as situations of state-sponsored instrumentalisation of migrants, as referred to in Regulation (EU) 2024/1359, which aim to destabilise or undermine society and key institutions.

Added:Recital 6: (6) Investor citizenship schemes operated by third countries listed in Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 allow visa-free travel to the Union to third-country nationals that would otherwise be visa required. Under an investor citizenship scheme, citizenship is granted in return for pre-determined payments or investments without any genuine link to the third country concerned. While the Union respects the right of sovereign countries to decide on their own naturalisation procedures, visa-free third countries should be deterred from using visa-free access to the Union as a tool for leveraging individual investment in return for their citizenship. In addition, a lack of comprehensive security checks, vetting procedures and due diligence by such third countries with regard to investor citizenship schemes pose several serious security risks for Union citizens, such as those stemming from money laundering and corruption. To prevent visa-free access to the Union being used for this purpose, it should be possible to suspend the visa exemption for a third country which chooses to operate such investor citizenship schemes, whereby citizenship is granted without any genuine link to the third country concerned.

Added:Recital 7: (7) Where the visa policy of a third country listed in Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 is not aligned with the visa policy of the Union as regards the list of third countries whose nationals are required to be in possession of a visa when crossing the external borders of the Member States, this could result in irregular migration to the Union, in particular where the concerned third country is in close geographic proximity to the Union. Therefore, it should be possible to trigger the suspension mechanism where, following an assessment, the Commission concludes that there is a substantial increase in the number of third-country nationals, other than nationals of that third country, who arrive legally in the territory of that third country and then irregularly enter the territory of the Member States.

Added:Recital 7 a (new): (7a) Refusing or failing to process readmission applications could include cases of a third country failing to assist, in a timely manner, in identifying third country nationals for whom a Member State has submitted readmission applications to that third country or otherwise creating persisting practical obstacles regarding the enforcement of readmission decisions.

Added:Recital 8: (8) The thresholds to trigger the suspension mechanism in case of a substantial increase in the number of nationals of a third country refused entry or found to be staying in the Member State’s territory without a right to do so, or in the number of asylum applications from the nationals of that third country for which the recognition rate is low, should be clearly set out in order to avoid diverging interpretations and the risk of inconsistent practices. In particular, the Commission should assess whether there are specific circumstances, in the cases notified by Member States or under its own analysis, which would justify the application of the relevant provisions of Regulation (EU) 2018/1806. Additionally, taking into account the impact that a suspension of the exemption from the visa requirement might have on relations with the third country concerned and on the rights of its nationals, the Commission should thoroughly assess the necessity, proportionality and consequences of such a suspension before adopting the relevant act.

Added:Recital 8 a (new): (8a) For the purpose of determining whether a recognition rate of asylum application is low, it is important that the Commission carry out a case-by-case assessment, taking into account the latest available yearly Union-wide average Eurostat data, the way in which relevant Union law on asylum is being implemented, and the specific circumstances of the third country concerned.

Added:Recital 8 b (new): (8b) It should be possible to trigger the suspension mechanism in the event of serious breaches by a third country of the principles set out in the Charter of the United Nations or in the event of grave violations of the obligations deriving from international human rights law or international humanitarian law, violations of bilateral agreements between the Union and that third country, non-compliance or non-alignment with relevant Union sanctions, or hostile acts towards the Union or Member States which aim to destabilise or undermine society and key institutions for the public policy and internal security of the Member states and the Union. Such hostile acts could result from foreign interference in political processes, economic coercion, cyber operations, economic espionage or the sabotage of critical infrastructure.

Added:Recital 8 c (new): (8c) Where the Commission considers suspending an exemption from the visa requirement on its own accord or following a notification by a Member State, the Commission should take into account, in its evaluation, the impact of the proposed suspension on the principles of visa reciprocity and non-discrimination and whether the proposed suspension represents an appropriate measure to remedy the situation. Special attention should be given to civil society, in particular where the human rights situation in the third country concerned has deteriorated.

Added:Recital 9: (9) For the purpose of notifying to the Commission the circumstances that may amount to a ground for suspension, Member States should take into account reference periods between two and twelve months in order to identify sudden changes in the relevant situation that may justify the use of the visa suspension mechanism. The suspension mechanism should only be triggered where the reasons for relying on the relevant ground are sufficient and clear. The Commission should fully and immediately inform the European Parliament and the Council of notifications it receives and decisions it takes as a result.

Added:Recital 10: (10) Whenever it considers it necessary, or upon request by the European Parliament or by the Council, the Commission should report on the outcome of its systematic monitoring of the visa-free regimes with all the third countries listed in Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2018/1806. The report should focus on those third countries which, according to the Commission’s analysis, present specific problems that, if not addressed, may lead to trigger the suspension mechanism. In particular, the Commission should report on countries which have been newly listed in Annex II without undergoing a visa liberalisation dialogue, where it considers it necessary and in particular in the first years following the entry into force of the visa exemption for those countries.

Added:Recital 10 a (new): (10a) In light of the far-reaching consequences that the temporary suspension of an exemption from the visa requirement might have on the nationals of the third country concerned, the Commission should favour a targeted approach, applying the suspension first and foremost to selected individuals holding positions of responsibility, such as members of that third country’s official delegations, members of local, regional and national governments, members of parliaments or high-ranking public or military officials, while making every effort to minimise the adverse consequences on the general population of that third country. The Commission should continuously monitor whether the triggering of the suspension mechanism has achieved the intended result and regularly report thereon to the European Parliament and to the Council.

Added:Recital 11: (11) Where a decision to temporarily suspend the visa exemption for a third country has been taken, there should be an adequate timeframe for the enhanced dialogue between the Commission and the concerned third country aimed at remedying the circumstances that led to the suspension. For this purpose, the duration of the temporary suspension decided by a Commission implementing act should be 12 months in a first phase, with a possibility to extend it by a further 24 months with a delegated act in a second phase. Where no solution is found before the end of the period of validity of the delegated act and the Commission presents a legislative proposal to transfer the concerned third country from Annex II to Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2018/1806, the Commission should adopt a delegated act extending the temporary suspension for a further six months or until the entry into force of the adopted proposal, whichever comes first.

Added:Recital 12: (12) The Commission should adopt immediately applicable implementing acts where, in duly justified cases related to the triggering of the suspension mechanism, a serious threat to public policy or internal security of a Member State requires immediate action, in particular to prevent any abuse of visa-free travel causing a mass influx of third-country nationals arriving irregularly in the territory of the Member States or a serious damage to the public policy or internal security of Member States.

Added:Recital 13: (13) The temporary suspension should be lifted at any time where the circumstances that led to the suspension are remedied before the end of the period of the suspension or where the suspension turns out to be ineffective for the purpose of remedying the situation. To this end, the Commission should adopt, respectively, an implementing act before the end of the period of suspension set out in the relevant implementing act, and a delegated act before the end of the period of suspension set out in the relevant delegated act.

Added:Recital 14: (14) As regards Iceland and Norway, this Regulation constitutes a development of the provisions of the Schengen acquis within the meaning of the Agreement concluded by the Council of the European Union and the Republic of Iceland and the Kingdom of Norway concerning the latters’ association with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis, which fall within the area referred to in Article 1, points B and C, of Council Decision 1999/437/EC23.

Removed:Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2, Article 8a – paragraph 1 – point d – point ii: deleted

Added:Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point -1 (new), Article 7 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point d: (-1) In Article 7 point (d) is replaced by the following: / “(d) the Commission shall, when considering further steps in accordance with point (e) or (h), take into account the outcome of the measures taken by the Member State concerned with a view to ensuring visa-free travel with the third country in question, the steps taken in accordance with point (b), and the consequences of the suspension of the exemption from the visa requirement for the external relations of the Union and its Member States with the third country in question;”

Removed:The Rapporteur considers this ground should be part of the deliberation of the grounds under Union's external relations with the relevant third country as proposed in point (ga).

Removed:Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2, Article 8a – paragraph 1 – point g a (new): (ga) the non-compliance with the specific requirements, which are based on Article 1, in particular the Union's external relations with the relevant third country, including, considerations of human rights and fundamental freedoms, deriving from any of the following: / (i) breach of bilateral and multilateral agreements between the Union or the Union and the Member States, on the one hand, and the relevant third country, on the other; / (ii) serious breaches of international law and standards, including international human rights law, by the relevant third country, including non-compliance with international court decisions and rulings; / (iii) hostile acts or aggression against one or more Member States or the Union by the relevant third country; / (iv) serious human rights violations, including criminalisation of abortion and LGBTQ+ persons, and the introduction or the use of death penalty by the relevant third country; / (v) the non-compliance with relevant Union sanctions in relation to the relevant third country;

Added:Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 1, Article 8 – paragraph 2: 2. In cases where an agreement on the short-stay visa waiver between the Union and a third country listed in Annex II has been concluded, Articles 8a, 8e and 8f of this Regulation shall apply without prejudice to the relevant provisions on grounds for suspension and procedures set out in the agreement.

Removed:Article 1 determines the basis for the exemption from visa requirements for the nationals of the third countries when travelling to the territory of the Member States, which are based on a case-by-case assessment of a variety of criteria, and article 8 provides grounds for the suspension of the said exemption. There is however, a gap between the conditions for visa exemption and the grounds for its suspension, in particular in relation to the Union's external relations with the relevant third country, including, in particular, considerations of human rights and fundamental freedoms. The Rapporteur wishes to close this gap by extending the grounds for suspension in Article 8 as set out.

Removed:Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2, Article 8c – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 a (new): The Commission shall monitor the continuous compliance with the specific requirements, which are based on Article 1, in particular the Union's external relations with the relevant third country, and, with regard to the third countries listed in Annex II and which benefit from visa liberalisation, the grounds for suspension as referred to in Article 8a(1), point (ga).

Added:Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2, Article 8a – paragraph 1 – introductory part: The suspension mechanism may be triggered by any of the following grounds: