BRUSSELS – The European Commission has rejected a request of the Dutch government to use the “emergency brake” procedure to suspend the visa liberalization for Albanian citizens, wrote Luigi Soreca, Head of the European Delegation to Albania, reports exit.al.
“After a careful assessment of the content of the notification received from The Netherlands and based on available information and relevant data, the European Commission considers that in the current situation the circumstances to trigger the visa suspension mechanism are not met”, state Luigi Soreca, on a Facebook post, reports exit.al.
He added that the Commission will continue to closely monitor the fulfilment of the visa liberalisation benchmarks for Albania.
“It is now time for Albania to build upon this confirmation of its important achievement back in 2010 and to move forward with reinvigorated energy on its path to EU integration, in view of the crucial EU Council decision next October”, concluded Soreca.
Last month, the European Commission has launched the evaluation of Albania’s visa-free regime, which could result in “undertaking certain steps”. The decision comes after an official request by the Government of Netherlands to return the visa regime for Albanians.