Several EU countries raised the possibility of canceling the visa-free travel regime to the bloc due to alleged abuses perpetrated by some Western Balkan states, as well as Moldova, Georgia, and Ukraine.
This was reported by Radio Liberty according to an internal EU document accessed by the agency.
According to the document, dated September 27. Germany, France, and Italy have recently become more and more frustrated with alleged abuses of visa-free travel. It mentions surges in "unauthorized residence offenses" perpetrated by citizens of Albania, Moldova, Ukraine, and Serbia.
The document also listed a more than 50 percent increase in Georgian asylum claims over the past three months, compared to the same period in the pre-coronavirus pandemic year of 2019.
Under the so-called Visa Suspension Mechanism, a rise of more than 50 percent in illegal stays or asylum applications with low approval rates can lead to visas being reintroduced. Furthermore, refusal by governments to readmit their nationals can also see the return of visas.
In the document, Germany mentioned Moldova as a particularly serious case, with a 429 percent surge between June to August 2019 and June to August of this year.
Italy also took issue with Moldova, stating that human-trafficking networks operating through "neighboring countries" were abusing visa-free travel, raising the possibility of stripping Moldova of visa-free travel "in case of insufficient progress."
France mentioned problems caused by nationals from Albania, Georgia, and Serbia.
Belgium raised the problem posed by the "alarming increase" of asylum applications from Moldova this year, while the Czech Republic also said that unfounded asylum claims from Georgian, Moldovan, and Ukrainian nationals spiked recently.
The Netherlands is the only EU member to have asked for the suspension of the visa-free travel regime with Albania in 2019. But its request was rejected by the European Commission.
The document came as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen ws planning to visit the Western Balkans. Her 3-days tour to Albania and North Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina has started on September 28.
Noteworthy, on October 6, the European Union is set to hold a summit with Western Balkans.