On Monday, 29th April, the European Council made a significant decision that impacts Ethiopian nationals seeking visas to the European Union (EU). The Council has decided to “temporarily suspend certain elements of the EU law that regulates the issuing of visas to Ethiopian nationals”.
This suspension means that it will no longer be possible for member states to “waive requirements with regard to the evidence to be submitted by Ethiopian visa applicants”, “issue multiple entry visas”, or “waive the visa fee for holders of diplomatic and service passports”. Furthermore, the standard visa-processing period has been extended from 15 to 45 calendar days.
The decision follows an assessment by the Commission, which concludes that “cooperation by Ethiopia in the field of readmission of its nationals illegally staying in the EU is insufficient”. The Commission noted a lack of response from the Ethiopian authorities with regard to readmission requests and persistent difficulties with the issuance of emergency travel documents and the organisation of both voluntary and non-voluntary return operations.
While the suspension decision is temporary, it does not come with a specific end date. The Commission will continue to assess any progress made on readmission cooperation.
The EU visa code allows the Commission to regularly assess the cooperation of third countries on readmission. These assessments may lead to the conclusion that a given third country does not cooperate sufficiently. In such cases, the EU may decide to suspend the application of certain provisions of the visa code.
In the case of Ethiopia, the Commission observed a low return rate in particular. Also, the number of travel documents issued by Ethiopia in response to member states’ readmission requests is low, indicating a low level of cooperation.
