Blocking access to the European Union for diplomats and officials from third country governments that breach international human rights law will become easier under new visa rules agreed this morning by negotiators from the European Parliament and Council of the European Union.
The S&Ds welcome the successful conclusion of trilogue negotiations on the Revision of the visa suspension mechanism, negotiated on behalf of the European Parliament by S&D MEP Matjaž Nemec.
The new rules – which will now be put forward for a final green light from the Parliament and Council – expand the grounds for the suspension of visa-free travel regimes with third countries. Thanks to the Socialists and Democrats, this includes – for the first time – serious breaches of international law and standards, including international humanitarian law, serious human rights violations, and hostile acts of aggression against one or more member states or the Union. If adopted, the new rules will be another tool that the EU can use to reinforce respect for human rights in third countries.
Matjaž Nemec, S&D MEP and Parliament negotiator on the Revision of the visa suspension mechanism, said:
“Open visa policies are positive for Europe and third countries. But they are also precious, and can only be built on shared values. With this agreement, we are finally modernising the Visa Suspension mechanism so it reinforces our commitment to human rights and international law.
“Under these rules, we can more effectively trigger visa freedom suspension. Importantly, this now includes the option to take this step if a third country violates international or humanitarian law. And it allows the Commission to target these measures against diplomats and government officials who are responsible for breaches, meaning innocent citizens and civil society are not punished unfairly.
“Taken together, the revised visa suspension mechanism is another tool to deter third countries from undermining the international and humanitarian values that the European Union stands for. There will be clear consequences when third countries do not live up to our standards.”
Among other updates, the political agreement makes the application of the visa suspension mechanism more precise, providing a clear legal basis to target diplomats and government officials, rather than punishing all citizens, from a third country. It modernises the mechanism, better aligning it with the requirements for granting visa liberalisation to third countries in the first place.
Under the new rules, when the temporary suspension of visa free travel with a third country is being considered, the European Commission must also assess how it could impact civil society in the third country. Civil society – such as campaigners and human rights defenders – are often subject to government pressure in third countries which do not respect human rights standards, and the new rules aim to ensure civil society is not endangered by the suspension of visa liberalisation.
The political agreement on the Revision of the visa suspension mechanism also updates other factors that can trigger visa freedom suspension, including the level of asylum application rejections.
