Israel is set to be one of the first countries targeted by a reform of the mechanism to suspend short-stay visa-free travel into the EU and Schengen countries agreed on Tuesday by the European Parliament and the Council according to European Parliament sources. The new rules amend the grounds for suspending visa free schemes to include violations of human rights, which could lead to the imposition of mandatory visas for Israeli citizens, among others, sources from the Parliament familiar with the dossier told Euronews. Currently nationals from 61 countries - including Australia, Brazil, Israel, Japan, UK, Ukraine and the Western Balkan states - may travel to the Schengen area for short stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period. The EU can suspend the visa-free regime under specific conditions. So far this has happened only once — with the Republic of Vanuatu — due to its citizenship-by-investment scheme, which granted wealthy Russians Vanuatan passports allowing free travel into the EU. Under the new agreement between EU lawmakers and member states, the suspension mechanism will now be easier to trigger however, as the thresholds have been lowered and new criteria added. For example, violations of the United Nations Charter, severe breaches of international human rights or humanitarian law, and non-compliance with international court decisions will now be valid grounds for suspending a country's visa-free status. "This tool helps us deliver the values that have built our community and allows us to enforce human rights and respect for international law," Slovenian MEP Matjaž Nemec, the rapporteur for the bill in Parliament, told Euronews. "No specific country is being targeted," he added. However, Israel's status is among countries most at risk of having its status challenged under the new procedure, Parliament sources told Euronews, due to accusations of war crimes and crimes against humanity in its war on Gaza — allegations that have been raised by the UN. Serbia is another likely to be targeted, due to human rights concerns highlighted by the UN, the sources said. Under the procedure, the European Commission has to issue an implementing act to suspend the visa-free scheme for a particular country for one year. This decision only requires approval by the member states, and can be blocked by a qualified majority. To extend the suspension, the Commission must issue a delegated act, which can instead be blocked by either the Council or the Parliament. Countries in the Schengen area — which includes all EU states except Cyprus, Ireland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland — may also push the Commission to start the procedure, by notifying that they believe the conditions for triggering the mechanism are met. The Parliament may also propose a non-binding resolution recommending suspension of a country's visa-free status. "It is more likely that an EU member state would raise the issue of Israel, rather than the Parliament," a source familiar with the matter told Euronews, adding that several political groups in the Parliament pushed for the inclusion of human rights violations with Israel in mind. Among other legislative changes included in the bill are new provisions related to migration. Currently, a substantial increase in the number of people of a specific nationality staying irregularly in the Schengen area or a rise in asylum seekers from a country with a low recognition rate can justify suspending the visa-free regime. Under the reform, the threshold for assessing an increase in irregular stays will be lowered from 50% to 30% of the previous period's number. Meanwhile, the threshold for a "low recognition rate" of asylum applications will be raised from the current 4% to 20%. This would broaden the spectrum of the countries involved and would ease triggering the mechanism. Indeed the changes aim to send a message to countries benefiting from visa-free access, encouraging them to reduce migration to the EU. "The Polish presidency, which leads the Council, pushed hard for this reform because of strong ambitions among member states. That's why we were able to reach an agreement today," said Matjaž Nemec. The deal reached on Tuesday still needs to be formally adopted by both the Parliament and the Council before becoming EU law. — Euronews
