Activities of Željana ZOVKO related to 2023/0441(CNS)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the proposal for a Council directive amending Directive (EU) 2015/637 on the coordination and cooperation measures to facilitate consular protection for unrepresented citizens of the Union in third countries and Directive (EU) 2019/997 establishing an EU Emergency Travel Document
Amendments (9)
Amendment 19 #
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 and natural and human made disasters and have provided a context to identify gaps and reflect on how to further facilitate the exercise of the right to consular protection. Drawing lessons from those experiences, and in order to simplify 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 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 21 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 4
Recital 4
(4) To improve legal certainty for consular authorities and citizens, it is appropriate to lay down more 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 pragmatical, flexible and applied 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 important considerations.
Amendment 26 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 17
Recital 17
(17) Recent events have highlighted the important contribution of Union delegations, in close cooperation with Member States, to the implementation of the right to consular protection. This has been the case in particular in third countries where few Member States are represented, in crisis situations, and as regards the exchange of information. Against this background, it is appropriate to clarify the supporting role of Union delegations in the implementation of the right to consular protection. For reasons of consistency and business continuity, Union delegations should normallyin close cooperation and agreement with the Member States chair local consular cooperation meetings and lead the setting up and agreement of joint consular contingency plans. In order to ensure coordination and effective protection of unrepresented citizens, Union delegations should also take part in the coordination of crisis response in close cooperation with the Member States.
Amendment 30 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 23
Recital 23
(23) Joint consular contingency plans should also take into account, where appropriate, the roles and responsibilities of Lead States, that is, Member States represented in a given third country that are in charge of coordinating and leading the assistance of unrepresented citizens during crises, to ensure the effective coordination of consular assistance. In addition, joint consular contingency plans should be evaluated annually in the context of consular exercises to ensure their continued relevance. At the same time, joint consular contingency plans should not be understood as replacing the existing national crisis plans of individual Member States or affecting their responsibility to provide required and timely consular assistance to their own nationals, but as a coherent approach that can additionally help to coordinate the efforts of the represented Member States.
Amendment 32 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 24
Recital 24
(24) The estimated number and location of Union citizens present in a third country is crucial information for the preparation of a joint consular contingency plan, notably where an evacuation or repatriation becomes necessary. In addition, Union citizens should be able to receive relevant information from their Member State of nationality in case of a crisis. Member States and EU delegations should ensure that this information is easily accessible, relevant and up to date. To achieve this a broadcast service should be established with warning messages and important information through instant notification system when they are in third countries, especially during the crisis. It is therefore important that Member States provide their citizens with the possibility to register with or inform competent national authorities, by appropriate means and tools, of their travels to or residence in third countries. For that purpose, Member States should, in accordance with Union and national law regarding personal data protection, lay down the categories of personal data required and the retention periods of such data.
Amendment 38 #
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, should be regularly updated in order to 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 situationes, 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.
Amendment 42 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 26
Recital 26
(26) Efficient coordination is vital to ensure effective crisis response. To ensure such coordination, Member States shouldhave be supported and receive timely information by the Crisis Response Centre of the EEAS and the Emergency Response Coordination Centre of the Commission. Coordinated Union crisis response is particularly important in cases requiring evacuations to ensure that available support is provided quickly and efficiently, and that best use is made of available evacuation capacities. For that reason, regularly updated information on available evacuation capacity should be shared in a timely manner to be able to react rapidly and effectively, including in case of rescue and evacuation operations using military assets. In this regard, the EEAS and Member States should be able to share automatic and continuous information flow on the situation in third countries.
Amendment 51 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 30
Recital 30
(30) To support Union citizens in need, it is important to provide them with reliable information on how to avail themselves of consular assistance in third countries. The Commission services and the EEAS should contribute to that objective byin close coordination with Member States disseminatinge relevant information, including information to be provided by Member States on their consular networks and third countries where they have concluded practical arrangements on sharing responsibilities for providing consular protection to unrepresented citizens. TIn order to facilitate the processing of such information, it should be providedand improve consular protection, with special attention being paid to the situation of unrepresented citizens, the Commission should establish practical guidelines in machine-readable format.
Amendment 59 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 34 a (new)
Recital 34 a (new)
(34a) An appropriate increase of the EEAS budget and human resources, and in agreement those of Member States should be granted to guarantee the proper execution of responsibilities in providing assistance and/or protection to EU citizens in third countries in order to avoid the risk of overloading existing resources.