EU Member States Demand the Usage of Visa Policy

SchengenVisaInfo.com reports that the idea was revived at a meeting of EU Home Affairs Ministers in Sweden, Thursday 26 January, which focused on fighting irregular migration and organized crime.

"Should intensified political and diplomatic efforts not produce the desired results, member states call on the (European) Commission to come back to the (European) Council with proposals on visa restrictions," said Sweden's Minister of Migration Maria Malmer Stenergard, who also chaired the meeting.

Many countries, including the Netherlands and Lithuania, supported the proposals and urged Commission to take action. However, not all countries support the idea as certain countries like Germany have reservations.

Data shows that only 21% of the 340 500 orders for migrants to return to their home countries were fulfilled in 2021.

Only 4,200 illegal migrants arrived in Lithuania in 2022. One in four of them returned to their home country voluntarily in 2022. This is despite it being one of the lowest in the EU.

"We needed a proper EU legal framework yesterday already to counter the instrumentalisation of migration used against Member States," Lithuanian Interior Minister, Arnoldas Abramavicius, said throughout the meeting.

In March 2021, the EU Interior Ministers introduced the idea of using EU's visa policy to push third countries to return their citizens who have been living in the EU without a base.

Since then, EU visa requirements have been implemented only for citizens from the Gambia. This makes it harder to get a Schengen Visa and increases the fees.

"The measures mean that all applicants have to submit a full set of documentary evidence and that the 15 calendar days processing period as well as the issuing of multiple entry visas will be suspended. The optional visa fee waiver for holders of diplomatic and service passports should also be suspended," the Commission had mentioned at the time of introducing the measures.

Although no decision was made regarding the possibility of visa policy being used as leverage for additional countries, Ministers were presented with a proposal from the EU that aims to modernise the return procedures in every EU member state while increasing voluntary returns by making it easier to integrate in their home country.

Source: schengenvisainfo.com