REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE VISA SUSPENSION MECHANISM AND ON THE DELEGATION OF POWER UNDER SUCH MECHANISM
Date: 2021-08-04
Institutions: Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, EU migration policy, EU visa policy, Schengen Agreement, delegation of power, external border of the EU, foreign national, third country

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 4.8.2021  COM(2021) 603 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE VISA SUSPENSION MECHANISM AND ON THE DELEGATION OF POWER UNDER SUCH MECHANISM                       
 
 
I. INTRODUCTION 

The  present  report  stems  from  the  obligation  of  the  Commission  to  report  to  the  European 
Parliament and to the Council on the effectiveness of the visa suspension mechanism1 and on 
the  use  of  delegated  acts  under  such  mechanism2.  The  Visa  Regulation  requires  the 
Commission  to  submit,  if  necessary,  a  legislative  proposal  to  amend  the  visa  suspension 
mechanism.  

The timing of adoption of the present reports has been adjusted to take account of the findings 
of the Fourth Report under the Visa Suspension Mechanism3. 

II.  REPORT  ON  THE  EFFECTIVENESS  OF  THE  VISA  SUSPENSION 
MECHANISM 

1. Purpose and functioning of the visa suspension mechanism 

The Visa Regulation provides for a mechanism that allows for the temporary reintroduction of 
a visa requirement in emergency situations, where an urgent response is needed to solve the 
difficulties faced by at least one Member State, taking into account the overall impact of that 
situation on the Union as a whole4. 

The  suspension  mechanism  can  be  triggered  if  one  or  more  Member  States  notify  the 
Commission that at least one of the following circumstances are met:  

a)  a substantial increase (more than 50%) of irregular stays or refusals of entry;  
b)  a substantial increase (more than 50%) of applications for international protection with 

a low recognition rate (around 3-4%); 

c)  a decrease of cooperation on readmission, notably in case of an increasing refusal rate 

for readmission applications; or  

d)  an  increased  risk  or  imminent  threat  to  the  public  policy  or  internal  security  of 
Member  States,  in  particular  a  substantial  increase  (more  than  50%)  in  serious 
criminal offences linked to the nationals of a particular third country5.  

The Commission can also trigger the mechanism on its own initiative if the above-mentioned 
conditions  are  met6,  or  if  the  report  under  the  visa  suspension  mechanism  concludes  that 
certain visa liberalisation benchmarks are no longer fulfilled7. 

2. Use of the visa suspension mechanisms 

1   Article 9(2) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 November 
2018 listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external 
borders  and  those  whose  nationals  are  exempt  from  that  requirement  (‘the  Visa  Regulation’),  OJ  L  303, 
28.11.2018, p. 39. 

2   Article 10(3) of the Visa Regulation. 
3   COM(2021) 602.  
4   Recital 18 of the Visa Regulation. 
5   Article 8(2) of the Visa Regulation. 
6   Article 8(3) of the Visa Regulation. 
7   Article 8(4) of the Visa Regulation. 

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Although the visa suspension mechanism has  been triggered once, it has not  resulted in the 
suspension of any visa exemption. The existence of the suspension mechanism has effectively 
contributed to the compliance of visa-free third countries with the criteria set out in Article 1 
of  the  Visa  Regulation,  which  were  used  to  assess  the  appropriateness  of  granting  visa 
exemptions. 

On  2  June  2019,  the  Netherlands  notified  the  Commission  that  it  faced  circumstances  that 
could lead to suspending the short-stay visa exemption with regards to Albania. The concerns 
expressed in the notification were predominantly linked to public order and security, but also 
to irregular migration and unfounded asylum applications lodged by Albanian nationals.  

In  accordance  with  the  Visa  Regulation,  the  Commission  examined  carefully  the  content  of 
the  notification.  Based  on  the  available  information  and  the  relevant  data,  the  Commission 
considered  that  the  conditions  for  suspending  the  visa  exemption  laid  down  by  the  Visa 
Regulation were not met. On 1 July 2019 the Commission replied to the Netherlands and on 5 
July 2019 informed the European Parliament and the Council of the results of its examination. 

The  notification  of  June  2019  provided  a  first  test  of  the  initial  procedural  steps  of  the 
mechanism,  including  as  regards  the  substantive  test,  the  fact-finding  methodology  and  the 
legal  deadlines.  The  Commission  examined  the  notification,  replied  to  the  Netherlands  and 
informed the European Parliament and the Council of the results of its examination within one 
month of receiving the notification. 

This procedure showed that the deadline of one month as laid down in the Visa Regulation8 is 
very  tight,  taking  into  account  the  thorough  examination  required  and  the  possibility  of  the 
adoption of an implementing act within the same period. However, this time limit is justified 
by  the  nature  and  the  purpose  of  the  mechanism,  which  aims  at  addressing  emergency 
situations.  

3. The impact of the visa suspension mechanism on visa-free regimes 

Even  though  the  mechanism  has  not  resulted  in  the  suspension  of  any  visa  exemption,  its 
existence has prompted important reforms in visa free third countries in the area of migration 
management,  security,  rule  of  law  and  human  rights.  The  Fourth  report  under  the  Visa 
Suspension  Mechanism9 shows that this effect  has been particularly  relevant  in  the Western 
Balkans and the Eastern Partnership, where progress under the visa liberalisation benchmarks 
and the follow-up to the Commission recommendations has continued beyond the successful 
completion  of  the  visa  liberalisation  dialogues  and  long  after  the  acquisition  of  the  visa 
exemption.  

Although  this  progress  cannot  be  solely  attributed  to  the  visa  suspension  mechanism,  the 
Commission  considers  that,  to  a  certain  extent,  the  mechanism  has  provided  an  additional 
incentive.  

8   Article 8(6) of the Visa Regulation. 
9   COM(2021) 602. 

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The  possibility  of  a  swift  temporary  and  partial  re-introduction  of  the  visa  requirement  has 
possibly also deterred third countries from continuing to implement policies that might pose a 
risk  of  a  negative  impact  on  EU  visa-free  regimes.  This  includes,  for  instance,  investor 
citizenship  schemes10.  Moldova  terminated  its  investor  citizenship  scheme  in  2020  and 
Montenegro has decided not to extend its scheme beyond the end of 2021.  

This  is  also  visible  in  the  reforms  and  cooperation  by  certain  visa-free  third  countries  in 
particular in the areas of migration and security. This refers for example to cooperation in the 
fight  against  terrorism,  tighter  checks  at  border  crossing  points,  or  to  the  organisation  of 
awareness-raising  campaigns  on  the  rights  and  obligations  of  visa-free  travel  in  order  to 
prevent abuses of the visa-free regime. 

III.  REPORT  ON  DELEGATED  ACTS  UNDER  THE  VISA  SUSPENSION 
MECHANISM  

According to Article 10(3) of the Visa Regulation,  the power to  adopt  delegated acts  under 
the  visa  suspension  mechanism  shall  be  conferred  on  the  Commission  for  a  period  of  five 
years  from  28  March  2017  and  the  Commission  shall  draw  up  a  report  in  respect  of  the 
delegation  of  power  not  later  than  nine  months  before  the  end  of  the  five-year  period.  The 
Commission hereby reports that it has not used this power to date. 

IV. CONCLUSIONS 

The  suspension  mechanism  has  triggered  a  number  of  reforms  in  visa-free  countries,  in 
particular in those countries that obtained a visa exemption as a result of a visa liberalisation 
dialogue. To a certain extent, the existence of this mechanism has also had a preventive effect 
in cases where a third country has considered adopting policies that could have an impact on 
the visa-free regime.  

Although  no  delegated  act  has  been  adopted  to  date  under  Article  8(6),  the  deadlines  and 
procedures  of  the  suspension  mechanism  as  provided  by  the  Visa  Regulation  have  been 
successfully tested in its first phases. The short deadlines of the procedure are justified by the 
purpose and the nature of the mechanism as an emergency procedure.  

Therefore,  the  Commission  does  not  consider  necessary  to  submit  a  legislative  proposal  to 
amend  the  Visa  Regulation  with  regards  to  the  visa  suspension  mechanism.  In  order  to 
maintain the possibility for the Commission and the Member States to respond to emergency 
situations  when  the  circumstances  for  triggering  the  suspension  mechanism  are  met,  the 
Commission  recommends a tacit extension of the delegation of power  for another period of 
five years, as of March 2022, in accordance with the Visa Regulation11. 

10   See also the Report from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic 
and Social Committee  and the Committee of  the Regions  of 23 January 2019 on Investor Citizenship and 
Residence Schemes in the European Union (COM(2019) 12 final. 

11   Article 10(3) of the Visa Regulation. 

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