14 Amendments of Daniel BUDA related to 2023/0441(CNS)
Amendment 16 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 2
Recital 2
(2) Crises resulting in requests for consular protection are increasing in frequency and scale. The COVID-19 pandemic, the crisis in Afghanistan, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the conflict in Sudan, the repatriations from Israel and Gaza and other similar crises have provided a context to identify gaps and reflect on how to further facilitate the exercise of the right to consular protection in the Union. Drawing lessons from those experiences, and in order to simplify and streamline procedures for citizens and consular authorities, the rules and procedures of Directive (EU) 2015/637 should be clarified and streamlined so as to improve the effectiveness and speed of the provision of consular protection to unrepresented citizens of the Union, in particular in crisis situations. Best use should be made of the available resources at Member State and Union level, both locally in third countries and at capital level.
Amendment 17 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 4
Recital 4
(4) To improve legal certainty and effectiveness for consular authorities and citizens, it is appropriate to lay down more predictable, accessible and detailed criteria that aid in the assessment whether a Union citizen is to be considered as unrepresented and thus eligible to receive consular protection from the Member State whose consular authorities have been approached. Those criteria should be sufficiently flexible and applied proportionately in light of local circumstances, such as ease of travel or security situation in the third country concerned. In this context, accessibility and proximity should remain importantcrucial considerations.
Amendment 21 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 5
Recital 5
(5) As a first criterion, consular authorities should take into account the difficulty and length of time for citizens to safely reach or be reached by the embassy or consulate of their Member State of nationality within a reasonable period of time, given their specific circumstances, taking into account the nature and urgency of the assistance requested and the means, notably financial resources, available to them. For example, the need for an EU Emergency Travel Document as a result of the loss of travel documents should, in principle, result in the citizen being considered as unrepresented if reaching the embassy or consulate of his or her Member State of nationality would require overnight or air travel, as he or she cannot be expected to travel under such circumstances.
Amendment 22 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 10
Recital 10
(10) Where a crisis situation results in a large number of applications for consular protection, the embassies and consulates of the Member States represented in the third country concerned should be given the possibility to agree to distribute applications based on available capacity with a view to making best use thereof. For that purpose, they may be assisted by Union delegations. Such cooperation may include, inter alia, the exchange of information, logistical and administrative coordination and the facilitation of communication between the parties concerned.
Amendment 24 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 14
Recital 14
(14) It is necessary to ensure optimal and swift access to justice for Union citizens victimised in third countries, which requires closer contact and cooperation between authorities and support organisations of third countries and consular authorities and support organisations of Member States.
Amendment 26 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 21
Recital 21
(21) Past crises have shown the relevance of contingency planning and the usefulness of joint consular contingency plans, known as ‘Joint EU Consular Crisis Preparedness Frameworks’, in third countries, involving the participation of the diplomatic and consular authorities of all Member States, as well as of the local Union delegation. Such plans should be tailored to local circumstances, set a clear division of responsibilities between represented and non-represented Member States and the Union delegation and include a set of procedures and activities to be carried out swiftly and efficiently at local level in case of a crisis, with a specific attention being awarded to the consular protection of unrepresented citizens.
Amendment 28 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 25
Recital 25
(25) Travel advice, that is, information issued by Member States about the relative safety of travelling to specific third countries, enables travellers to make an informed decision about a particular travel destination, including third countries where their Member State of nationality is not represented. While the issuance of travel advice is the responsibility of Member States, it is appropriate that they coordinate on that topic, notably in the context of crisis situations, with a view to ensuring, to the extent possible, consistency in the level of advice given. This could include agreeing on a common structure of the levels of risk indicated in travel advice, making use of the secure platform of the EEAS. Where possible, such coordination should take place at an early stage when Member States are planning to change the level of their travel advice. As part of this coordination process, Member States could explore ways to use information and communication technology and systems to provide travel advice in a more efficient and accessible way for travellers. For example, mobile applications or online platforms could be developed which provide real-time up-to-date information on the situation in various destinations, as well as personalised notifications for travellers based on their itinerary.
Amendment 31 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 26
Recital 26
(26) EfficientSwift and effective coordination is vital to ensure effective crisis response. To ensure such coordination, Member States should be supported by the Crisis Response Centre of the EEAS and the Emergency Response Coordination Centre of the Commission. CSwift and coordinated Union crisis response is particularly important in cases requiring evacuations to ensure that available support is provided efficiently, and that best use is made of available evacuation capacities. For that reason, information on available evacuation capacity should be shared in a timely manner, including in case of rescue and evacuation operations using military assets.
Amendment 39 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 33
Recital 33
(33) In cases where the costs have not been repaid by the citizen directly, that is, neither immediately when making the request or at a later stage when having been requested to do so by the assisting Member State on the basis of the undertaking to repay, the assisting Member State should be entitled to ask for the reimbursement of the costs due from the unrepresented citizen’s Member State of nationality. To avoid being faced with requests for reimbursement after long periods, the assisting Member State and Member State of nationality should be given a reasonable deadline to, respectively, make the request and reimbursement. Application of these measures will make it possible to ensure that the assisting Member State recuperates its costs in a timely and efficient manner, thus preventing any blockage of the use of funds in other such situations.
Amendment 42 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 41
Recital 41
(41) When processing such special categories of personal data, the competent authorities of the Member States and Union institutions and bodies should ensure suitable and specific measures to safeguard data subjects’ interests. This should include, where possible, encrypting such personal data and specific attribution of access rights for personnel who have access to the specified types of special categories of personal data. Furthermore, it is vital that the competent authorities put in place clear and transparent procedures for the management and protection of this sensitive data. Such procedures could include the regular review of data security policies, regular data protection training for staff and the implementation of monitoring and reporting systems for the identification and handling of potential cybersecurity incidents and breaches of privacy.
Amendment 47 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 1
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 1
Directive (EU) 2015/637
Article 6 – paragraph 2 – point a
Article 6 – paragraph 2 – point a
(a) the difficulty for the citizen concerned to safely reach or be reached by the embassy or consulate of his or her Member State of nationality within a reasonable period of time, given their specific circumstances, taking into account the nature and urgency of the assistance requested and the means available to the citizen;
Amendment 48 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 1
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 1
Directive (EU) 2015/637
Article 6 – paragraph 2 – point b
Article 6 – paragraph 2 – point b
(b) possible closures of the embassy or consulate of his or her Member State of nationality, including when it cannot be confirmed, within a reasonable period of time, given the citizen's circumstances, as operational and accessible;
Amendment 56 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 4
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 4
Directive (EU) 2015/637
Article 13 – paragraph 1
Article 13 – paragraph 1
1. In the context of local consular cooperation referred to in Article 12, Member States and the EEAS shall set up and agree a joint consular contingency plan for each third country. The joint consular contingency plan shall be updated annually and contain, as a minimum:
Amendment 66 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 5
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 5
Directive (EU) 2015/637
Article 13a – paragraph 1
Article 13a – paragraph 1
1. In the event of a crisis, the Union and Member States shall closely cooperate to ensure timely and efficient assistance for unrepresented citizens. They shall, where possible, inform each other of available evacuation capacities in a timely mannerwithout undue delay, including in case of operations using military assets.