The European Commission has rejected a request of the government of the Netherlands to suspend the visa-free travel to the Schengen Area for Albanian nationals.

According to a statement of the Commission, after a careful evaluation of the request, the EC has concluded that there are not enough reasons to suspend Albania from the visa-free regime.

“After a careful assessment of the content of the notification received from the Netherlands and based on the available information and the relevant data, the commission considers that in the current situation the circumstances to trigger the visa suspension mechanism are not met. The commission will continue to closely monitor the fulfillment of the visa liberalization benchmarks for Albania as well as for other countries benefiting from visa free travel,” the statement argues.

The European Commission had started its evaluation for the suspending of visa-free access to the EU for nationals of Albania during the first week of June this year. The evaluation has been undertaken upon the request of the Netherlands through a letter signed by the Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the EU, Robert de Groot.

Netherland’s Request to Suspend Visa-free Travel for Albania

On May 31, the Dutch government asked the European Commission to suspend visa-free movement for Albanians, after more than a month since its Parliament supported a motion asking the government to do so.

In a letter sent to the EU Commission, the Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the EU, Robert de Groot presented several reasons why visa-free travel should be suspended for Albania.

“Over the last years, issues with Albanian nationals have received much public attention in the Netherlands. Albanian nationals play a significant role in organized crime in cities such as Amsterdam and Rotterdam and other regions in the country. Another development is the increasing number of illegal migrants from Albania, mostly young men wishing to start a new life in the United Kingdom. The number of asylum applications from Albanian nationals is also steadily high,” de Groot argued in his letter.

He asked the European Commission to consider triggering the Emergency Break, which is a Schengen Visa suspension mechanism regulated through EC Regulation 1289/2013. The mechanism permits the suspension of visa free travel to the Schengen for third country nationals in specific circumstances.

