European Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn says that there are no risks today that would lead to the introduction of a Schengen visa suspension mechanism because of citizens of Ukraine.
"I do not know any incident or abuse that could lead to the suspension of the visa-free regime if it concerns the use of this regime by citizens. But you have seen in our report, which was released last December, that there are other issues related to visa liberalization – where there is progress and where there can be risks. Again, this concerns the fight against corruption," Hahn told Ukraine's Radio NV.
"But now there is no risk for the visa-free regime because of the behavior of Ukrainians abroad," he added.
As UNIAN reported, the Council of the European Union introduced visa-free short-term travel for Ukrainian citizens to 30 EU countries and the Schengen zone as of on June 11, 2017. Ukraine had to comply with 144 requirements for the visa waiver.
At the same time, the EU has created a legislative tool to suspend visa-free travel with any non-EU country whose citizens violate the conditions of the visa-free regime. In particular, this mechanism can be applicable in the event of migration risks.
The visa-free regime grants Ukrainian citizens the right to stay on the territory of 30 countries (all EU countries except for the United Kingdom and Ireland plus four Schengen countries which are not EU members – Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein) without visa for up to 90 days in a 180-day period.
