The European Union Member States are discussing the future visa sanctions for Iraq and Gambia, considering potentially increasing pressure on third countries that are not cooperating enough with EU deportations, the recent report from Statewatch notes.
It notes that Both Iraq and Gambia have been targeted with EU visa sanctions under claims that they didn’t cooperate enough on deportations, and it seems the measure may have led to a new willingness to accept deportation flights from EU states, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
Gambia is the only country subject to EU visa sanctions introduced by 2019 amendments to the EU Visa Code.
In addition, citizens of Gambia were subjected to an increased processing time for Schengen visas (as of 2021) and an increased fee (as of 2022). The measures were introduced by the EU after mass protests in the Gambia saw the government introduce a moratorium on accepting deportations.
Arguing that it was unfair to single out the Gambia, activists from this country said that they feel the Gambia has sometimes become a site of experimentation for new European policies.
According to Statewatch, in January this year, the sanctions were facilitated through the abolishment of the increased visa fee after the Council of the EU described as “substantial and sustained improvement in the cooperation on readmission was established with regard to the organisation of return flights and operations.”
The same notes that regular charter flights have headed to the country in the past year.
It emphasises that while this may make a Schengen visa application cheaper, it is unlikely to make visas any more accessible, revealing that in 2022, the Gambia had the highest visa rejection rate of any country featuring the Commission’s annual cooperation report, at 57 per cent.
Former director of the Gambian National Youth Council, Lamin Mokendeh Darboe, said that the number of citizens of Gambia eligible to travel to the EU was restricted even before sanctions hit.
The reality is not so many people were getting visas anyway. This is why people take irregular channels to travel; there are limited alternatives.
At the same time, the increased visa processing times continue to remain in place. The Council decided to facilitate sanctions on Gambia, stressing that cooperation on readmission with the Gambia remains insufficient with regard to the assistance provided in the identification of Gambian nationals illegally staying in the EU.
It further notes that cooperation on readmission with the Gambia remains insufficient also regarding the timely issuance of travel documents and the capacity and frequency of charter flights to allow for a sustainable reduction of the number of Gambian nationals illegally staying in the Member States.
