“The Permanent Representatives Committee (Coreper) approved the Council’s negotiating mandate on the liberalisation of short-stay visas for Kuwait and Qatar. On the basis of this mandate, the presidency will start negotiations with the European Parliament”, the Council of the European Union (EU) announced in its most recent press release.
The EU Council confirmed the Commission’s proposal to provide for visa-free travel for the citizens of these two countries when travelling to the EU for a maximum duration of 90 days per 180-day period.
“The Council thus took the first step towards visa liberalisation with Kuwait and Qatar, which should apply after the conclusion of bilateral agreements with these countries, in particular, to ensure that full reciprocity of this exemption for EU citizens is maintained. The aim of these agreements will also be to clarify responsibilities for the readmission of nationals of each party who are in an irregular situation. The entry into force of the exemption should also take place after the effective entry into operation of the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), scheduled for 2023”, the statement of the Council reads.
“In its negotiating mandate, the Council stressed that particular attention should also be paid to regional coherence, notably with a view to strengthening people-to-people contacts and travel between the EU and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. It, therefore, calls on the Commission to proceed rapidly with the assessment of the situation of these countries against the benchmarks with a view to exempting the other GCC member states from the visa requirement”, mentioned in the release.
