The European Commission Proposes to Exempt Qataris from Schengen Visa

His Excellency Mr. Abdulaziz bin Ahmed Al-Malki, Ambassador of the State of Qatar to the European Union, announced that he had received from His Excellency Mr. Margaritis Schinas, Vice President of the European Commission, the official legal document regarding the inclusion of the State of Qatar for exemption from the Schengen visa. Ambassador Al-Maliki said - on his official account on Twitter - that we will work for its ratification by the European Ministerial Council and the European Parliament.

Qatar's ambassador to the European Union had said in another tweet that on the occasion of the issuance of the European Union statement regarding the inclusion of citizens of the State of Qatar for exemption from the requirements of the Schengen visa, he would like to thank His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, for his continuous support and fruitful guidance The mission, which achieved this success.

Ambassador Al-Maliki described the European Union's procedure to exempt Qatari citizens from the Schengen as an important step, indicating that there are upcoming steps in this regard.

It is worth noting that the European Commission has announced that it has proposed granting visa exemptions to citizens of Qatar.

The Commission's statement highlighted that if the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union approved the Commission's proposal, citizens of Qatar who hold biometric passports will not need a visa when traveling to the EU for short periods of up to 90 days, for work, tourism or visiting relatives.

The proposal came after the Commission concluded that Qatar poses a low risk of irregular migration, as well as its work to enhance cooperation on security issues with the European Union, and that Qatar is an economic partner of the European Union, especially in the field of energy.

Josep Borrell, the EU's foreign policy official said "Our proposal to raise visa requirements for Qatari nationals is a first step to facilitate the travel of people from the entire region to the European Union"

He added, "The ultimate goal is to ensure regional cohesion and ultimately to ensure visa-free travel for all GCC countries, in addition to our upcoming joint contacts on the Gulf countries, this proposal will enhance the comprehensive partnership and enhance cooperation between the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council"

The relations between Qatar and the European Union began more than 3 decades ago, especially since its relations with European countries such as Britain, France, Germany and Italy go back to long historical periods. However, the Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council (1988) positively affected the strengthening of the relationship between the two parties.