This relates to detailed amendments to Regulation 539/2001, the legal basis for visa policy in Article 77 (2)a of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU. The annexes (positive and negative lists) are part of the regulation which is currently being adopted or amended via a co-decision procedure.
The Commission proposal includes a modification of the reciprocity mechanism and introduces a suspension mechanism. While the reciprocity mechanism is of more interest to the European Parliament, the suspension clause is primarily of interest to the member states. The compromise includes a mixed system (partly implementing acts during the first period and delegated acts during the second) for the reciprocity mechanism. The S&D Group may well ultimately agree on this issue but it is important to stress that only implementing acts are foreseen for the suspension mechanism.