Op-Ed: “EU’s Neocolonialism: Safeguarding the Purity of Ni-Vanuatu Blood through Blackmail”by Dimitry V. Kochenov & William Thomas Worster

On 3 March 2022 in a seemingly unremarkable move the Council upheld the Commission’s proposal to partially suspend visa-free travel to the Schengen zone for the Vanuatu citizens (on passports issued after 25 May 2015). The world of visa-free travel fluctuates all the time, even though growing openness is a general trend, as QNI shows. It is unquestionable that the Council can take such decisions, mirroring countries around the world. As Sir Richard Plender explained, the paradigm in international travel shifted from presumed openness to presumed closure around 100 years ago and the Union is within its right, itself suffering from US visa barriers for some of its citizens. 

It is the arbitrariness of the flawed reasons behind the s