The spokesperson of the Commission, Natasha BertaudThethe the European Commission has commenced its evaluation for the postponement of visa-free access to the EU for nationals of Albania, upon the request of the Netherlands. After receiving a letter signed by uhe Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the EU, Robert de Groot, in which he argues the motives why the visa-free journey needs to be suspended for Albania, the EC confirmed on June 3 that it has now started to evaluate the request. According to the spokesperson of the Commission, Natasha Bertaud, the Commission will investigate the request and which tells the EU Council and Parliament, considering such decisions “can not be taken lightly.”
“The Commission will now carefully assess the notification in line with the process and based on the relevant date and relevant facts, regarding the precise instances… Of course, decisions to suspend visa-free travel can not be taken lightly, and any steps towards triggering the mechanism could be difficult to carefully evaluate and analyze,” spokesperson Bertaud stated last Monday.
The Netherlands’ Request to Suspend Visa-free Travel for Albania
Albania-EU On May 31, the Dutch government requested the European Commission to suspend visa-free movement for Albanians after more than a month because its Parliament supported a motion asking the authorities to do so. In a letter to the EU Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs, and Citizenship, Dimitris Avramopoulos, the Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the EU, Robert de Groot, explained why the gain granted to Albanian passport holders has to be reviewed.
“Over the final years, troubles with Albanian nationals have obtained a good deal of public attention within the Netherlands. Albanian nationals play a significant position in organized crime in cities consisting as Amsterdam and Rotterdam and other areas in u. S. Another improvement is the increasing variety of illegal migrants from Albania, on the whole, younger men wishing to start a brand new lifestyle within the United Kingdom. The number of asylum packages from Albanian nationals is also progressively excessive,” the letter reads, adding that these situations are undermining public support within the Netherlands for visa liberalization in general and visa liberalization for Albanian nationals, especially.
To provehis caser, Dutch Representative de Groot provided several facts in his letter to the EC, among others, displaying that thatAlbanian-speakingk me suspects rank number inside the top 5 alerts registered using the Netherlands within the Schengen Information System. He insisted that his u. S. Remains devoted to assisting Albania in its fight against prepared crime. “The Netherlands requests the Commission to study the furnished data and, in session with the Member States, to determine whether the need to do so on the premise of Article eight(6a) on the way to efficiently fight issues confronted in terms of Albanian nationals,” de Groot concludes in his letter.
Now the European Commission will compare the request of the Netherlands. With an easy majority of votes by using the European Commission, the EU may also initiate the Emergency Break. The Emergency Brake is a Schengen Visa suspension mechanism regulated through EC Regulation 1289/2013. It permits the suspension of the visa exemption for 1/3 United States of America nationals on unique occasions considered “emergencies.”
