The EU currently has a visa-free regime with 61 countries, plus Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.
Among countries included in the scheme, there are Albania, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Nicaragua, New Zealand, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates.
Since 2013, a suspension mechanism is in place allowing member states to temporarily suspend the visa exemption to address possible abuses.
The new rules will become effective 20 days after their publication in the EU’s Official Journal and will be directly applicable in EU member states.
Up until now, the EU's visa-free travel agreements have been suspended only for Ru…