BETA


2015/0052(NLE) EU/Vanuatu Agreement: short-stay visa waiver

Progress: Procedure completed

RoleCommitteeRapporteurShadows
Lead LIBE GABRIEL Mariya (icon: PPE PPE) GUILLAUME Sylvie (icon: S&D S&D), STEVENS Helga (icon: ECR ECR), MICHEL Louis (icon: ALDE ALDE), VALERO Bodil (icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE)
Committee Opinion AFET
Lead committee dossier:
Legal Basis:
TFEU 077-p2, TFEU 218-p6a

Events

2016/02/27
   Final act published in Official Journal
Details

PURPOSE: to conclude the Agreement between the European Union and Vanuatu on the short-stay visa waiver.

LEGISLATIVE ACT: Council Decision (EU) 2016/272 on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Vanuatu on the short-stay visa waiver.

CONTENT: under this Decision, the Agreement between the European Union and Vanuatu on the short-stay visa waiver is approved on behalf of the Union.

To recall, the Commission negotiated on behalf of the European Union an agreement with Vanuatu on the short-stay visa waiver. The Agreement has been signed and is applied on a provisional basis as from 28 May 2015.

The Agreement provides for visa-free travel for the citizens of the European Union and for the citizens of Vanuatu when travelling to the territory of the other Contracting Party for a maximum period of 90 days in any 180-day period . A joint statement on the interpretation of this duration of 90 days is annexed to the Agreement.

The visa waiver covers all categories of persons (ordinary, diplomatic, service/official and special passport holders) travelling for all kinds of purposes, except for the purpose of carrying out a paid activity . For this latter category, each Member State and also Vanuatu remain free to impose the visa requirement on the citizens of the other Party in accordance with the applicable Union or national law.

The Member States and Vanuatu reserve the right to refuse entry into and short stay in their territories if one or more of these conditions are not met .

The Agreement sets up a Joint Committee of experts for the management of the Agreement. The Union is to be represented within that Joint Committee by the Commission, which should be assisted by the representatives of the Member States.

This Decision constitutes a development of the provisions of the Schengen acquis in which Ireland and the United Kingdom do not take part . Therefore, these two countries are not bound by it or subject to its application.

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 12.2.2016.

2016/02/12
   EP/CSL - Act adopted by Council after consultation of Parliament
2016/02/12
   EP - End of procedure in Parliament
2016/02/12
   CSL - Council Meeting
2015/12/15
   EP - Results of vote in Parliament
2015/12/15
   EP - Decision by Parliament
Details

The European Parliament adopted by 550 votes to 61 with 22 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the draft Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Vanuatu on the short-stay visa waiver.

Following the recommendation of its Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, Parliament gave its consent to the conclusion of the Agreement.

The Agreement provides for visa-free travel for the citizens of the European Union and for the citizens of Vanuatu when travelling to the territory of the other Contracting Party for a maximum period of 90 days in any 180-day period . The visa waiver covers all categories of persons (ordinary, diplomatic, service/official and special passport holders) travelling for all kinds of purposes, except for the purpose of carrying out a paid activity.

Documents
2015/11/16
   EP - Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading
Details

The Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs adopted the report by Mariya GABRIEL (EPP, BG) on the draft Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Vanuatu on the short-stay visa waiver.

The committee recommended the European Parliament to give its consent to the conclusion of the Agreement.

To recall, the Agreement signed on 28 May 2015 provides for visa-free travel for the citizens of the European Union and for the citizens of the Republic of Vanuatu when travelling to the territory of the other Contracting Party for a maximum period of 90 days in any 180-day period . The visa waiver covers all categories of persons (ordinary, diplomatic, service/official and special passport holders) travelling for all kinds of purposes, except for the purpose of carrying out a paid activity.

The report is accompanied by a short justification stating that this Agreement on the waiver of short-stay visas simultaneously represents a culmination of the deepening of relations between the European Union and the Republic of Vanuatu – which is politically highly significant in the context of the Cotonou Agreement – and is an additional way of stepping up economic and cultural relations and intensifying political dialogue on various issues, including human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Vanuatu’s economy is dominated by farming, which contributes 19% of GDP, and services (particularly tourism and financial services), which account for 72% of GDP. The EU is currently negotiating Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements with 14 Pacific countries, including Vanuatu. Generally speaking, trade and investment between the European Union and the Pacific countries remain weak both as regards their value and in relative terms, but they have strong potential for development. The visa waiver agreement could in particular have a positive impact on investment and on the development of tourism. As regards the political situation , Vanuatu is a stable parliamentary democracy where fundamental rights and freedoms are protected by the Constitution and generally respected in practice. The Union’s political dialogue with Vanuatu on this subject emphasises preventing torture, combating corruption and promoting political participation and the development of civil society. This agreement will make it possible to maintain the dialogue and to cooperate on such issues as promoting human rights and combating gender violence. As regards mobility , a very low refusal rate and the limited number of applications are two factors which make it possible both to discount any security risks.

As regards the implementation and monitoring of the agreement , the rapporteur:

called on the Commission to observe any developments in relation to the criteria regarding clandestine immigration, public policy and security, including, considerations relating to human rights and fundamental freedoms; urged the Commission and the authorities of Vanuatu to ensure full reciprocity of the visa waiver , which should permit equal treatment of all citizens, particularly all citizens of the Union; encouraged the Commission to review the composition of the joint management committees for future agreements to enable the European Parliament to be involved in the work of these committees.

Lastly, the rapporteur also queried the practice of signing visa waiver agreements and applying them provisionally before the European Parliament has approved them, a practice which is liable to reduce Parliament’s room for manoeuvre.

Documents
2015/11/10
   EP - Vote in committee
2015/08/28
   EP - Committee draft report
Documents
2015/06/11
   EP - Committee referral announced in Parliament
2015/05/07
   CSL - Council Meeting
2015/04/28
   CSL - Legislative proposal
Details

PURPOSE: to conclude the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Vanuatu on the short-stay visa waiver.

PROPOSED ACT: Council Decision.

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Council may adopt the act only if Parliament has given its consent to the act.

BACKGROUND: the Commission negotiated on behalf of the European Union an agreement with the Republic of Vanuatu on the short-stay visa waiver.

In accordance with a Council Decision, the Agreement has been signed and is applied on a provisional basis.

It is now necessary to approve the Agreement on behalf of the EU.

CONTENT: the Council is invited to approve the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Vanuatu on the short-stay visa waiver.

For further details of the Agreement, please refer to the summary of the initial legislative proposal dated 5.3.2015 .

Territorial provisions : the provisions of the future Agreement shall not apply to the United Kingdom and Ireland.

The Agreement sets up a Joint Committee of experts for the management of the Agreement. The Union is to be represented within that Joint Committee by the Commission, which should be assisted by the representatives of the Member States.

Documents
2015/04/28
   CSL - Document attached to the procedure
Documents
2015/04/27
   EC - Legislative proposal published
Details

PURPOSE: to conclude the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Vanuatu on the short-stay visa waiver.

PROPOSED ACT: Council Decision.

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Council may adopt the act only if Parliament has given its consent to the act.

BACKGROUND: the Commission negotiated on behalf of the European Union an agreement with the Republic of Vanuatu on the short-stay visa waiver.

In accordance with a Council Decision, the Agreement has been signed and is applied on a provisional basis.

It is now necessary to approve the Agreement on behalf of the EU.

CONTENT: the Council is invited to approve the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Vanuatu on the short-stay visa waiver.

For further details of the Agreement, please refer to the summary of the initial legislative proposal dated 5.3.2015 .

Territorial provisions : the provisions of the future Agreement shall not apply to the United Kingdom and Ireland.

The Agreement sets up a Joint Committee of experts for the management of the Agreement. The Union is to be represented within that Joint Committee by the Commission, which should be assisted by the representatives of the Member States.

Documents
2015/04/13
   EP - GABRIEL Mariya (PPE) appointed as rapporteur in LIBE
2015/03/05
   EC - Document attached to the procedure
2015/03/05
   EP - Preparatory document
Details

PURPOSE: to conclude the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Vanuatu on the short-stay visa waiver.

PROPOSED ACT: Council Decision.

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Council may adopt the act only if Parliament has given its consent to the act.

BACKGROUND: Regulation (EU) No 509/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council amended Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders of the Member States and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement.

The Regulation was adopted on 20 May 2014 and entered into force on 9 June 2014.

In July 2014, the Commission presented a Recommendation to the Council to authorise it to start negotiations on visa waiver agreements with each of the following 17 countries : Dominica, Grenada, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, the United Arab Emirates and Vanuatu.

The negotiations on the visa waiver agreement with Vanuatu were opened on 19 November 2014 in Brussels. The agreement was initialled by the chief negotiators on 4 December 2014 .

The Commission considers that the objectives set by the Council in its negotiating directives were attained and that the draft visa waiver agreement is acceptable to the Union.

CONTENT: the Commission proposes that the Council approve the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Vanuatu on the short-stay visa waiver .

The content of the agreement may be summarised as follows:

Purpose and duration of stay : the agreement provides for visa-free travel for the citizens of the European Union and for the citizens of Vanuatu when travelling to the territory of the other Contracting Party for a maximum period of 90 days in any 180-day period . The agreement takes into account the situation of the Member States that do not yet apply the Schengen acquis in full. As long as they are not part of the Schengen area without internal borders, the visa waiver confers a right for the nationals of Vanuatu to stay for 90 days in any 180-day on the territory of each of those Member States (Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Romania), independently of the period calculated for the whole Schengen area.

A provision has been included in the agreement stating that Vanuatu may suspend or terminate the agreement only in respect of all the Member States of the European Union and that the Union may also only suspend or terminate the agreement in respect of all of its Member States

Scope of the application : the visa waiver covers all categories of persons (ordinary, diplomatic, service/official and special passport holders) travelling for all kinds of purposes, except for the purpose of carrying out a paid activity . For this latter category, each Member State and also Vanuatu remain free to impose the visa requirement on the citizens of the other Party in accordance with the applicable Union or national law.

The Member States and Vanuatu reserve the right to refuse entry into and short stay in their territories if one or more of these conditions are not met.

Territorial application : in the case of France and the Netherlands, the visa waiver would entitle nationals of Vanuatu to stay only in those Member States’ European territories.

The provisions of the Agreement do not apply to the United Kingdom and Ireland.

The Agreement establishes a Joint Committee for the management of the Agreement, which shall adopt its rules of procedure.

Documents

Activities

Votes

A8-0329/2015 - Mariya Gabriel - Vote unique #

2015/12/15 Outcome: +: 550, -: 61, 0: 22
DE IT ES PL FR RO CZ PT BE SE HU BG GB SK NL FI AT HR DK EL LT SI IE LV CY EE MT LU
Total
70
60
42
44
65
29
19
18
18
19
20
12
64
12
21
11
17
10
10
19
9
8
8
7
6
5
5
4
icon: PPE PPE
187

Denmark PPE

For (1)

1

Lithuania PPE

1

Estonia PPE

For (1)

1

Luxembourg PPE

2
icon: S&D S&D
170

Bulgaria S&D

2

Netherlands S&D

2

Croatia S&D

2

Slovenia S&D

For (1)

1

Ireland S&D

For (1)

1

Latvia S&D

1

Cyprus S&D

2

Estonia S&D

For (1)

1

Malta S&D

3

Luxembourg S&D

For (1)

1
icon: ALDE ALDE
58

Romania ALDE

3

Bulgaria ALDE

2

United Kingdom ALDE

1

Austria ALDE

For (1)

1

Croatia ALDE

2

Denmark ALDE

2

Slovenia ALDE

For (1)

1

Latvia ALDE

1

Estonia ALDE

2

Luxembourg ALDE

For (1)

1
icon: ECR ECR
60

Italy ECR

2

Romania ECR

For (1)

1

Czechia ECR

2

Bulgaria ECR

1

Slovakia ECR

2

Netherlands ECR

2
2

Croatia ECR

For (1)

1

Greece ECR

Against (1)

1

Lithuania ECR

1
icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE
38

Belgium Verts/ALE

2

Sweden Verts/ALE

3

Hungary Verts/ALE

2

Netherlands Verts/ALE

1

Austria Verts/ALE

3

Lithuania Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Slovenia Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Latvia Verts/ALE

1

Estonia Verts/ALE

For (1)

1
icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL
39

France GUE/NGL

Against (1)

3

Czechia GUE/NGL

2
3

Sweden GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

United Kingdom GUE/NGL

1

Netherlands GUE/NGL

For (1)

3

Finland GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

Denmark GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

Ireland GUE/NGL

3

Cyprus GUE/NGL

2
icon: NI NI
11

Germany NI

Against (1)

2

Poland NI

Abstain (1)

1

France NI

1
3
icon: EFDD EFDD
36

Poland EFDD

1

Czechia EFDD

Abstain (1)

1

Sweden EFDD

2

Lithuania EFDD

For (1)

1
icon: ENF ENF
33

Poland ENF

2

Romania ENF

Against (1)

1

Belgium ENF

Against (1)

1

United Kingdom ENF

Against (1)

1

Netherlands ENF

3

Austria ENF

3

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)

docs/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0092/COM_COM(2015)0092_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0092/COM_COM(2015)0092_EN.pdf
docs/1
date
2015-04-28T00:00:00
docs
url: http://register.consilium.europa.eu/content/out?lang=EN&typ=SET&i=ADV&RESULTSET=1&DOC_ID=7192%2F15&DOC_LANCD=EN&ROWSPP=25&NRROWS=500&ORDERBY=DOC_DATE+DESC title: 07192/2015
summary
type
Legislative proposal
body
CSL
events/1/date
Old
2015-04-28T00:00:00
New
2015-04-27T00:00:00
committees/0/shadows/3
name
VERGIAT Marie-Christine
group
European United Left - Nordic Green Left
abbr
GUE/NGL
docs/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0092/COM_COM(2015)0092_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0092/COM_COM(2015)0092_EN.pdf
docs/2/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE560.851
New
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/LIBE-PR-560851_EN.html
events/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
events/2/type
Old
Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
New
Committee referral announced in Parliament
events/3/type
Old
Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
New
Vote in committee
events/4/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-8-2015-0329_EN.html
New
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-8-2015-0329_EN.html
events/6
date
2015-12-15T00:00:00
type
Decision by Parliament
body
EP
docs
url: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-8-2015-0426_EN.html title: T8-0426/2015
summary
events/6
date
2015-12-15T00:00:00
type
Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
body
EP
docs
url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-8-2015-0426_EN.html title: T8-0426/2015
summary
procedure/Modified legal basis
Rules of Procedure EP 159
procedure/Other legal basis
Rules of Procedure EP 159
committees/0
type
Responsible Committee
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
committee
LIBE
rapporteur
name: GABRIEL Mariya date: 2015-04-13T00:00:00 group: European People's Party (Christian Democrats) abbr: PPE
shadows
committees/0
type
Responsible Committee
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
committee
LIBE
date
2015-04-13T00:00:00
rapporteur
name: GABRIEL Mariya group: European People's Party (Christian Democrats) abbr: PPE
shadows
events/0
date
2015-03-05T00:00:00
type
Preparatory document
body
EP
docs
summary
events/0
date
2015-03-05T00:00:00
type
Initial legislative proposal published
body
EC
docs
summary
events/4/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A8-2015-0329&language=EN
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-8-2015-0329_EN.html
events/6/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P8-TA-2015-0426
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-8-2015-0426_EN.html
docs/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0092/COM_COM(2015)0092_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0092/COM_COM(2015)0092_EN.pdf
events/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities
  • date: 2015-03-05T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf title: COM(2015)0101 type: Initial legislative proposal published celexid: CELEX:52015PC0101:EN body: EC commission: DG: url: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/ title: Migration and Home Affairs Commissioner: AVRAMOPOULOS Dimitris type: Initial legislative proposal published
  • date: 2015-04-28T00:00:00 docs: url: http://register.consilium.europa.eu/content/out?lang=EN&typ=SET&i=ADV&RESULTSET=1&DOC_ID=7192%2F15&DOC_LANCD=EN&ROWSPP=25&NRROWS=500&ORDERBY=DOC_DATE+DESC type: Legislative proposal published title: 07192/2015 body: EC commission: DG: url: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/ title: Migration and Home Affairs Commissioner: AVRAMOPOULOS Dimitris type: Legislative proposal published
  • date: 2015-05-07T00:00:00 body: CSL type: Council Meeting council: Foreign Affairs meeting_id: 3384
  • date: 2015-06-11T00:00:00 body: EP type: Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading committees: body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Foreign Affairs committee: AFET body: EP shadows: group: S&D name: GUILLAUME Sylvie group: ECR name: STEVENS Helga group: ALDE name: MICHEL Louis group: GUE/NGL name: VERGIAT Marie-Christine group: Verts/ALE name: VALERO Bodil responsible: True committee: LIBE date: 2015-04-13T00:00:00 committee_full: Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs rapporteur: group: EPP name: GABRIEL Mariya
  • date: 2015-11-10T00:00:00 body: EP type: Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading committees: body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Foreign Affairs committee: AFET body: EP shadows: group: S&D name: GUILLAUME Sylvie group: ECR name: STEVENS Helga group: ALDE name: MICHEL Louis group: GUE/NGL name: VERGIAT Marie-Christine group: Verts/ALE name: VALERO Bodil responsible: True committee: LIBE date: 2015-04-13T00:00:00 committee_full: Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs rapporteur: group: EPP name: GABRIEL Mariya
  • body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A8-2015-0329&language=EN type: Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading title: A8-0329/2015 type: Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading committees: body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Foreign Affairs committee: AFET body: EP shadows: group: S&D name: GUILLAUME Sylvie group: ECR name: STEVENS Helga group: ALDE name: MICHEL Louis group: GUE/NGL name: VERGIAT Marie-Christine group: Verts/ALE name: VALERO Bodil responsible: True committee: LIBE date: 2015-04-13T00:00:00 committee_full: Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs rapporteur: group: EPP name: GABRIEL Mariya date: 2015-11-16T00:00:00
  • date: 2015-12-15T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/sda.do?id=26385&l=en type: Results of vote in Parliament title: Results of vote in Parliament url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P8-TA-2015-0426 type: Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading title: T8-0426/2015 body: EP type: Results of vote in Parliament
  • date: 2016-02-12T00:00:00 body: CSL type: Council Meeting council: Economic and Financial Affairs ECOFIN meeting_id: 3445
  • date: 2016-02-12T00:00:00 body: EP type: End of procedure in Parliament
  • date: 2016-02-12T00:00:00 body: EP/CSL type: Act adopted by Council after consultation of Parliament
  • date: 2016-02-27T00:00:00 docs: url: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexplus!prod!CELEXnumdoc&lg=EN&numdoc=32016D0272 title: Decision 2016/272 url: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:L:2016:052:TOC title: OJ L 052 27.02.2016, p. 0011 type: Final act published in Official Journal
commission
  • body: EC dg: Migration and Home Affairs commissioner: AVRAMOPOULOS Dimitris
committees/0
type
Responsible Committee
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
committee
LIBE
date
2015-04-13T00:00:00
rapporteur
name: GABRIEL Mariya group: European People's Party (Christian Democrats) abbr: PPE
shadows
committees/0
body
EP
responsible
False
committee_full
Foreign Affairs
committee
AFET
committees/1
type
Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Foreign Affairs
committee
AFET
opinion
False
committees/1
body
EP
shadows
responsible
True
committee
LIBE
date
2015-04-13T00:00:00
committee_full
Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
rapporteur
group: EPP name: GABRIEL Mariya
council
  • body: CSL type: Council Meeting council: Economic and Financial Affairs ECOFIN meeting_id: 3445 url: http://register.consilium.europa.eu/content/out?lang=EN&typ=SET&i=SMPL&ROWSPP=25&RESULTSET=1&NRROWS=500&DOC_LANCD=EN&ORDERBY=DOC_DATE+DESC&CONTENTS=3445*&MEET_DATE=12/02/2016 date: 2016-02-12T00:00:00
  • body: CSL type: Council Meeting council: Foreign Affairs meeting_id: 3384 url: http://register.consilium.europa.eu/content/out?lang=EN&typ=SET&i=SMPL&ROWSPP=25&RESULTSET=1&NRROWS=500&DOC_LANCD=EN&ORDERBY=DOC_DATE+DESC&CONTENTS=3384*&MEET_DATE=07/05/2015 date: 2015-05-07T00:00:00
docs
  • date: 2015-03-05T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0092/COM_COM(2015)0092_EN.pdf title: COM(2015)0092 url: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexplus!prod!DocNumber&lg=EN&type_doc=COMfinal&an_doc=2015&nu_doc=0092 title: EUR-Lex type: Document attached to the procedure body: EC
  • date: 2015-04-28T00:00:00 docs: url: http://register.consilium.europa.eu/content/out?lang=EN&typ=SET&i=ADV&RESULTSET=1&DOC_ID=7119%2F15&DOC_LANCD=EN&ROWSPP=25&NRROWS=500&ORDERBY=DOC_DATE+DESC title: 07119/2015 type: Document attached to the procedure body: CSL
  • date: 2015-08-28T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE560.851 title: PE560.851 type: Committee draft report body: EP
events
  • date: 2015-03-05T00:00:00 type: Initial legislative proposal published body: EC docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf title: COM(2015)0101 url: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexplus!prod!DocNumber&lg=EN&type_doc=COMfinal&an_doc=2015&nu_doc=0101 title: EUR-Lex summary: PURPOSE: to conclude the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Vanuatu on the short-stay visa waiver. PROPOSED ACT: Council Decision. ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Council may adopt the act only if Parliament has given its consent to the act. BACKGROUND: Regulation (EU) No 509/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council amended Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders of the Member States and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement. The Regulation was adopted on 20 May 2014 and entered into force on 9 June 2014. In July 2014, the Commission presented a Recommendation to the Council to authorise it to start negotiations on visa waiver agreements with each of the following 17 countries : Dominica, Grenada, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, the United Arab Emirates and Vanuatu. The negotiations on the visa waiver agreement with Vanuatu were opened on 19 November 2014 in Brussels. The agreement was initialled by the chief negotiators on 4 December 2014 . The Commission considers that the objectives set by the Council in its negotiating directives were attained and that the draft visa waiver agreement is acceptable to the Union. CONTENT: the Commission proposes that the Council approve the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Vanuatu on the short-stay visa waiver . The content of the agreement may be summarised as follows: Purpose and duration of stay : the agreement provides for visa-free travel for the citizens of the European Union and for the citizens of Vanuatu when travelling to the territory of the other Contracting Party for a maximum period of 90 days in any 180-day period . The agreement takes into account the situation of the Member States that do not yet apply the Schengen acquis in full. As long as they are not part of the Schengen area without internal borders, the visa waiver confers a right for the nationals of Vanuatu to stay for 90 days in any 180-day on the territory of each of those Member States (Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Romania), independently of the period calculated for the whole Schengen area. A provision has been included in the agreement stating that Vanuatu may suspend or terminate the agreement only in respect of all the Member States of the European Union and that the Union may also only suspend or terminate the agreement in respect of all of its Member States Scope of the application : the visa waiver covers all categories of persons (ordinary, diplomatic, service/official and special passport holders) travelling for all kinds of purposes, except for the purpose of carrying out a paid activity . For this latter category, each Member State and also Vanuatu remain free to impose the visa requirement on the citizens of the other Party in accordance with the applicable Union or national law. The Member States and Vanuatu reserve the right to refuse entry into and short stay in their territories if one or more of these conditions are not met. Territorial application : in the case of France and the Netherlands, the visa waiver would entitle nationals of Vanuatu to stay only in those Member States’ European territories. The provisions of the Agreement do not apply to the United Kingdom and Ireland. The Agreement establishes a Joint Committee for the management of the Agreement, which shall adopt its rules of procedure.
  • date: 2015-04-28T00:00:00 type: Legislative proposal published body: EC docs: url: http://register.consilium.europa.eu/content/out?lang=EN&typ=SET&i=ADV&RESULTSET=1&DOC_ID=7192%2F15&DOC_LANCD=EN&ROWSPP=25&NRROWS=500&ORDERBY=DOC_DATE+DESC title: 07192/2015 summary: PURPOSE: to conclude the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Vanuatu on the short-stay visa waiver. PROPOSED ACT: Council Decision. ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Council may adopt the act only if Parliament has given its consent to the act. BACKGROUND: the Commission negotiated on behalf of the European Union an agreement with the Republic of Vanuatu on the short-stay visa waiver. In accordance with a Council Decision, the Agreement has been signed and is applied on a provisional basis. It is now necessary to approve the Agreement on behalf of the EU. CONTENT: the Council is invited to approve the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Vanuatu on the short-stay visa waiver. For further details of the Agreement, please refer to the summary of the initial legislative proposal dated 5.3.2015 . Territorial provisions : the provisions of the future Agreement shall not apply to the United Kingdom and Ireland. The Agreement sets up a Joint Committee of experts for the management of the Agreement. The Union is to be represented within that Joint Committee by the Commission, which should be assisted by the representatives of the Member States.
  • date: 2015-06-11T00:00:00 type: Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading body: EP
  • date: 2015-11-10T00:00:00 type: Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading body: EP
  • date: 2015-11-16T00:00:00 type: Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A8-2015-0329&language=EN title: A8-0329/2015 summary: The Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs adopted the report by Mariya GABRIEL (EPP, BG) on the draft Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Vanuatu on the short-stay visa waiver. The committee recommended the European Parliament to give its consent to the conclusion of the Agreement. To recall, the Agreement signed on 28 May 2015 provides for visa-free travel for the citizens of the European Union and for the citizens of the Republic of Vanuatu when travelling to the territory of the other Contracting Party for a maximum period of 90 days in any 180-day period . The visa waiver covers all categories of persons (ordinary, diplomatic, service/official and special passport holders) travelling for all kinds of purposes, except for the purpose of carrying out a paid activity. The report is accompanied by a short justification stating that this Agreement on the waiver of short-stay visas simultaneously represents a culmination of the deepening of relations between the European Union and the Republic of Vanuatu – which is politically highly significant in the context of the Cotonou Agreement – and is an additional way of stepping up economic and cultural relations and intensifying political dialogue on various issues, including human rights and fundamental freedoms. Vanuatu’s economy is dominated by farming, which contributes 19% of GDP, and services (particularly tourism and financial services), which account for 72% of GDP. The EU is currently negotiating Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements with 14 Pacific countries, including Vanuatu. Generally speaking, trade and investment between the European Union and the Pacific countries remain weak both as regards their value and in relative terms, but they have strong potential for development. The visa waiver agreement could in particular have a positive impact on investment and on the development of tourism. As regards the political situation , Vanuatu is a stable parliamentary democracy where fundamental rights and freedoms are protected by the Constitution and generally respected in practice. The Union’s political dialogue with Vanuatu on this subject emphasises preventing torture, combating corruption and promoting political participation and the development of civil society. This agreement will make it possible to maintain the dialogue and to cooperate on such issues as promoting human rights and combating gender violence. As regards mobility , a very low refusal rate and the limited number of applications are two factors which make it possible both to discount any security risks. As regards the implementation and monitoring of the agreement , the rapporteur: called on the Commission to observe any developments in relation to the criteria regarding clandestine immigration, public policy and security, including, considerations relating to human rights and fundamental freedoms; urged the Commission and the authorities of Vanuatu to ensure full reciprocity of the visa waiver , which should permit equal treatment of all citizens, particularly all citizens of the Union; encouraged the Commission to review the composition of the joint management committees for future agreements to enable the European Parliament to be involved in the work of these committees. Lastly, the rapporteur also queried the practice of signing visa waiver agreements and applying them provisionally before the European Parliament has approved them, a practice which is liable to reduce Parliament’s room for manoeuvre.
  • date: 2015-12-15T00:00:00 type: Results of vote in Parliament body: EP docs: url: https://oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/sda.do?id=26385&l=en title: Results of vote in Parliament
  • date: 2015-12-15T00:00:00 type: Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P8-TA-2015-0426 title: T8-0426/2015 summary: The European Parliament adopted by 550 votes to 61 with 22 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the draft Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Vanuatu on the short-stay visa waiver. Following the recommendation of its Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, Parliament gave its consent to the conclusion of the Agreement. The Agreement provides for visa-free travel for the citizens of the European Union and for the citizens of Vanuatu when travelling to the territory of the other Contracting Party for a maximum period of 90 days in any 180-day period . The visa waiver covers all categories of persons (ordinary, diplomatic, service/official and special passport holders) travelling for all kinds of purposes, except for the purpose of carrying out a paid activity.
  • date: 2016-02-12T00:00:00 type: Act adopted by Council after consultation of Parliament body: EP/CSL
  • date: 2016-02-12T00:00:00 type: End of procedure in Parliament body: EP
  • date: 2016-02-27T00:00:00 type: Final act published in Official Journal summary: PURPOSE: to conclude the Agreement between the European Union and Vanuatu on the short-stay visa waiver. LEGISLATIVE ACT: Council Decision (EU) 2016/272 on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Vanuatu on the short-stay visa waiver. CONTENT: under this Decision, the Agreement between the European Union and Vanuatu on the short-stay visa waiver is approved on behalf of the Union. To recall, the Commission negotiated on behalf of the European Union an agreement with Vanuatu on the short-stay visa waiver. The Agreement has been signed and is applied on a provisional basis as from 28 May 2015. The Agreement provides for visa-free travel for the citizens of the European Union and for the citizens of Vanuatu when travelling to the territory of the other Contracting Party for a maximum period of 90 days in any 180-day period . A joint statement on the interpretation of this duration of 90 days is annexed to the Agreement. The visa waiver covers all categories of persons (ordinary, diplomatic, service/official and special passport holders) travelling for all kinds of purposes, except for the purpose of carrying out a paid activity . For this latter category, each Member State and also Vanuatu remain free to impose the visa requirement on the citizens of the other Party in accordance with the applicable Union or national law. The Member States and Vanuatu reserve the right to refuse entry into and short stay in their territories if one or more of these conditions are not met . The Agreement sets up a Joint Committee of experts for the management of the Agreement. The Union is to be represented within that Joint Committee by the Commission, which should be assisted by the representatives of the Member States. This Decision constitutes a development of the provisions of the Schengen acquis in which Ireland and the United Kingdom do not take part . Therefore, these two countries are not bound by it or subject to its application. ENTRY INTO FORCE: 12.2.2016. docs: title: Decision 2016/272 url: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexplus!prod!CELEXnumdoc&lg=EN&numdoc=32016D0272 title: OJ L 052 27.02.2016, p. 0011 url: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:L:2016:052:TOC
links
other
  • body: CSL type: Council Meeting council: Former Council configuration
  • body: EC dg: url: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/ title: Migration and Home Affairs commissioner: AVRAMOPOULOS Dimitris
procedure/Modified legal basis
Old
Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament EP 150
New
Rules of Procedure EP 159
procedure/dossier_of_the_committee
Old
LIBE/8/02995
New
  • LIBE/8/02995
procedure/final/url
Old
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexplus!prod!CELEXnumdoc&lg=EN&numdoc=32016D0272
New
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexplus!prod!CELEXnumdoc&lg=EN&numdoc=32016D0272
procedure/subject
Old
  • 6.40.09 Relations with Oceanian countries
  • 7.10.04 External borders crossing and controls, visas
New
6.40.09
Relations with Oceanian countries
7.10.04
External borders crossing and controls, visas
activities/10
date
2016-02-27T00:00:00
docs
type
Final act published in Official Journal
procedure/final
url
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexplus!prod!CELEXnumdoc&lg=EN&numdoc=32016D0272
title
Decision 2016/272
procedure/stage_reached
Old
Procedure completed, awaiting publication in Official Journal
New
Procedure completed
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/8
date
2016-02-12T00:00:00
body
EP
type
End of procedure in Parliament
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/6/docs/0
url
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/sda.do?id=26385&l=en
type
Results of vote in Parliament
title
Results of vote in Parliament
activities/6/type
Old
Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
New
Results of vote in Parliament
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/7
date
2016-02-12T00:00:00
body
CSL
type
Council Meeting
council
Economic and Financial Affairs ECOFIN
meeting_id
3445
activities/8
date
2016-02-12T00:00:00
body
EP/CSL
type
Act adopted by Council after consultation of Parliament
other/0
body
CSL
type
Council Meeting
council
Former Council configuration
procedure/stage_reached
Old
Awaiting final decision
New
Procedure completed, awaiting publication in Official Journal
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/6/docs/0/text
  • The European Parliament adopted by 550 votes to 61 with 22 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the draft Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Vanuatu on the short-stay visa waiver.

    Following the recommendation of its Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, Parliament gave its consent to the conclusion of the Agreement.

    The Agreement provides for visa-free travel for the citizens of the European Union and for the citizens of Vanuatu when travelling to the territory of the other Contracting Party for a maximum period of 90 days in any 180-day period. The visa waiver covers all categories of persons (ordinary, diplomatic, service/official and special passport holders) travelling for all kinds of purposes, except for the purpose of carrying out a paid activity.

activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/6/docs
  • url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P8-TA-2015-0426 type: Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading title: T8-0426/2015
activities/6/type
Old
Vote in plenary scheduled
New
Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
procedure/stage_reached
Old
Awaiting Parliament 1st reading / single reading / budget 1st stage
New
Awaiting final decision
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/5/docs/0/text
  • The Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs adopted the report by Mariya GABRIEL (EPP, BG) on the draft Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Vanuatu on the short-stay visa waiver.

    The committee recommended the European Parliament to give its consent to the conclusion of the Agreement.

    To recall, the Agreement signed on 28 May 2015 provides for visa-free travel for the citizens of the European Union and for the citizens of the Republic of Vanuatu when travelling to the territory of the other Contracting Party for a maximum period of 90 days in any 180-day period. The visa waiver covers all categories of persons (ordinary, diplomatic, service/official and special passport holders) travelling for all kinds of purposes, except for the purpose of carrying out a paid activity. 

    The report is accompanied by a short justification stating that this Agreement on the waiver of short-stay visas simultaneously represents a culmination of the deepening of relations between the European Union and the Republic of Vanuatu – which is politically highly significant in the context of the Cotonou Agreement – and is an additional way of stepping up economic and cultural relations and intensifying political dialogue on various issues, including human rights and fundamental freedoms.

    • Vanuatu’s economy is dominated by farming, which contributes 19% of GDP, and services (particularly tourism and financial services), which account for 72% of GDP. The EU is currently negotiating Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements with 14 Pacific countries, including Vanuatu. Generally speaking, trade and investment between the European Union and the Pacific countries remain weak both as regards their value and in relative terms, but they have strong potential for development. The visa waiver agreement could in particular have a positive impact on investment and on the development of tourism.
    • As regards the political situation, Vanuatu is a stable parliamentary democracy where fundamental rights and freedoms are protected by the Constitution and generally respected in practice. The Union’s political dialogue with Vanuatu on this subject emphasises preventing torture, combating corruption and promoting political participation and the development of civil society. This agreement will make it possible to maintain the dialogue and to cooperate on such issues as promoting human rights and combating gender violence. 
    • As regards mobility, a very low refusal rate and the limited number of applications are two factors which make it possible both to discount any security risks.

    As regards the implementation and monitoring of the agreement, the rapporteur:

    • called on the Commission to observe any developments in relation to the criteria regarding clandestine immigration, public policy and security, including, considerations relating to human rights and fundamental freedoms;
    • urged the Commission and the authorities of Vanuatu to ensure full reciprocity of the visa waiver, which should permit equal treatment of all citizens, particularly all citizens of the Union;
    • encouraged the Commission to review the composition of the joint management committees for future agreements to enable the European Parliament to be involved in the work of these committees.

    Lastly, the rapporteur also queried the practice of signing visa waiver agreements and applying them provisionally before the European Parliament has approved them, a practice which is liable to reduce Parliament’s room for manoeuvre.

activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/5/docs
  • url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A8-2015-0329&language=EN type: Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading title: A8-0329/2015
activities/6/type
Old
Indicative plenary sitting date, 1st reading/single reading
New
Vote in plenary scheduled
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/5
date
2015-11-16T00:00:00
body
EP
type
Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading
committees
procedure/stage_reached
Old
Awaiting committee decision
New
Awaiting Parliament 1st reading / single reading / budget 1st stage
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/4
date
2015-11-10T00:00:00
body
EP
type
Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
committees
procedure/Modified legal basis
Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament EP 150
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/4
date
2015-12-15T00:00:00
body
EP
type
Indicative plenary sitting date, 1st reading/single reading
activities/0/docs/0/celexid
CELEX:52015PC0101:EN
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/3/committees/1/shadows
  • group: S&D name: GUILLAUME Sylvie
  • group: ECR name: STEVENS Helga
  • group: ALDE name: MICHEL Louis
  • group: GUE/NGL name: VERGIAT Marie-Christine
  • group: Verts/ALE name: VALERO Bodil
committees/1/shadows
  • group: S&D name: GUILLAUME Sylvie
  • group: ECR name: STEVENS Helga
  • group: ALDE name: MICHEL Louis
  • group: GUE/NGL name: VERGIAT Marie-Christine
  • group: Verts/ALE name: VALERO Bodil
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/1/docs/0/text
  • PURPOSE: to conclude the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Vanuatu on the short-stay visa waiver.

    PROPOSED ACT: Council Decision.

    ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Council may adopt the act only if Parliament has given its consent to the act.

    BACKGROUND: the Commission negotiated on behalf of the European Union an agreement with the Republic of Vanuatu on the short-stay visa waiver.

    In accordance with a Council Decision, the Agreement has been signed and is applied on a provisional basis.

    It is now necessary to approve the Agreement on behalf of the EU.

    CONTENT: the Council is invited to approve the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Vanuatu on the short-stay visa waiver.

    For further details of the Agreement, please refer to the summary of the initial legislative proposal dated 5.3.2015.

    Territorial provisions: the provisions of the future Agreement shall not apply to the United Kingdom and Ireland.

    The Agreement sets up a Joint Committee of experts for the management of the Agreement. The Union is to be represented within that Joint Committee by the Commission, which should be assisted by the representatives of the Member States.

activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/text
  • PURPOSE: to conclude the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Vanuatu on the short-stay visa waiver.

    PROPOSED ACT: Council Decision.

    ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Council may adopt the act only if Parliament has given its consent to the act.

    BACKGROUND: Regulation (EU) No 509/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council amended Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders of the Member States and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement.

    The Regulation was adopted on 20 May 2014 and entered into force on 9 June 2014.

    In July 2014, the Commission presented a Recommendation to the Council to authorise it to start negotiations on visa waiver agreements with each of the following 17 countries: Dominica, Grenada, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, the United Arab Emirates and Vanuatu.

    The negotiations on the visa waiver agreement with Vanuatu were opened on 19 November 2014 in Brussels. The agreement was initialled by the chief negotiators on 4 December 2014.

    The Commission considers that the objectives set by the Council in its negotiating directives were attained and that the draft visa waiver agreement is acceptable to the Union.

    CONTENT: the Commission proposes that the Council approve the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Vanuatu on the short-stay visa waiver.

    The content of the agreement may be summarised as follows:

    Purpose and duration of stay: the agreement provides for visa-free travel for the citizens of the European Union and for the citizens of Vanuatu when travelling to the territory of the other Contracting Party for a maximum period of 90 days in any 180-day period. The agreement takes into account the situation of the Member States that do not yet apply the Schengen acquis in full. As long as they are not part of the Schengen area without internal borders, the visa waiver confers a right for the nationals of Vanuatu to stay for 90 days in any 180-day on the territory of each of those Member States (Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Romania), independently of the period calculated for the whole Schengen area.

    A provision has been included in the agreement stating that Vanuatu may suspend or terminate the agreement only in respect of all the Member States of the European Union and that the Union may also only suspend or terminate the agreement in respect of all of its Member States

    Scope of the application: the visa waiver covers all categories of persons (ordinary, diplomatic, service/official and special passport holders) travelling for all kinds of purposes, except for the purpose of carrying out a paid activity. For this latter category, each Member State and also Vanuatu remain free to impose the visa requirement on the citizens of the other Party in accordance with the applicable Union or national law.

    The Member States and Vanuatu reserve the right to refuse entry into and short stay in their territories if one or more of these conditions are not met.

    Territorial application: in the case of France and the Netherlands, the visa waiver would entitle nationals of Vanuatu to stay only in those Member States’ European territories.

    The provisions of the Agreement do not apply to the United Kingdom and Ireland.

    The Agreement establishes a Joint Committee for the management of the Agreement, which shall adopt its rules of procedure.

activities/3
date
2015-06-11T00:00:00
body
EP
type
Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
committees
procedure/dossier_of_the_committee
LIBE/8/02995
procedure/stage_reached
Old
Preparatory phase in Parliament
New
Awaiting committee decision
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0
date
2015-03-05T00:00:00
docs
url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf type: Initial legislative proposal published title: COM(2015)0101
body
EC
type
Initial legislative proposal published
commission
DG: url: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/ title: Migration and Home Affairs Commissioner: AVRAMOPOULOS Dimitris
activities/1/date
Old
2015-03-05T00:00:00
New
2015-04-28T00:00:00
activities/1/docs/0/text
  • PURPOSE: to conclude the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Vanuatu on the short-stay visa waiver.

    PROPOSED ACT: Council Decision.

    ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Council may adopt the act only if Parliament has given its consent to the act. 

    BACKGROUND: Regulation (EU) No 509/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council amended Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders of the Member States and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement.

    The Regulation was adopted on 20 May 2014 and entered into force on 9 June 2014.

    In July 2014, the Commission presented a Recommendation to the Council to authorise it to start negotiations on visa waiver agreements with each of the following 17 countries: Dominica, Grenada, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, the United Arab Emirates and Vanuatu.

    The negotiations on the visa waiver agreement with Vanuatu were opened on 19 November 2014 in Brussels. The agreement was initialled by the chief negotiators on 4 December 2014.

    The Commission considers that the objectives set by the Council in its negotiating directives were attained and that the draft visa waiver agreement is acceptable to the Union.

    CONTENT: the Commission proposes that the Council approve the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Vanuatu on the short-stay visa waiver.

    The content of the agreement may be summarised as follows:

    Purpose and duration of stay: the agreement provides for visa-free travel for the citizens of the European Union and for the citizens of Vanuatu when travelling to the territory of the other Contracting Party for a maximum period of 90 days in any 180-day period. The agreement takes into account the situation of the Member States that do not yet apply the Schengen acquis in full. As long as they are not part of the Schengen area without internal borders, the visa waiver confers a right for the nationals of Vanuatu to stay for 90 days in any 180-day on the territory of each of those Member States (Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Romania), independently of the period calculated for the whole Schengen area.

    A provision has been included in the agreement stating that Vanuatu may suspend or terminate the agreement only in respect of all the Member States of the European Union and that the Union may also only suspend or terminate the agreement in respect of all of its Member States

    Scope of the application: the visa waiver covers all categories of persons (ordinary, diplomatic, service/official and special passport holders) travelling for all kinds of purposes, except for the purpose of carrying out a paid activity. For this latter category, each Member State and also Vanuatu remain free to impose the visa requirement on the citizens of the other Party in accordance with the applicable Union or national law.

    The Member States and Vanuatu reserve the right to refuse entry into and short stay in their territories if one or more of these conditions are not met.

    Territorial application: in the case of France and the Netherlands, the visa waiver would entitle nationals of Vanuatu to stay only in those Member States’ European territories.

    The provisions of the Agreement do not apply to the United Kingdom and Ireland.

    The Agreement establishes a Joint Committee for the management of the Agreement, which shall adopt its rules of procedure.

activities/1/docs/0/title
Old
COM(2015)0101
New
07192/2015
activities/1/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://register.consilium.europa.eu/content/out?lang=EN&typ=SET&i=ADV&RESULTSET=1&DOC_ID=7192%2F15&DOC_LANCD=EN&ROWSPP=25&NRROWS=500&ORDERBY=DOC_DATE+DESC
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/celexid
CELEX:52015PC0101:EN
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/celexid
CELEX:52015PC0101:EN
activities/0/docs/0/celexid
CELEX:52015PC0101:EN
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/1
date
2015-05-07T00:00:00
body
CSL
type
Council Meeting
council
Foreign Affairs
meeting_id
3384
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
activities/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf
committees/1/date
2015-04-13T00:00:00
committees/1/rapporteur
  • group: EPP name: GABRIEL Mariya
activities/0/docs/0/text
  • PURPOSE: to conclude the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Vanuatu on the short-stay visa waiver.

    PROPOSED ACT: Council Decision.

    ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Council may adopt the act only if Parliament has given its consent to the act. 

    BACKGROUND: Regulation (EU) No 509/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council amended Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders of the Member States and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement.

    The Regulation was adopted on 20 May 2014 and entered into force on 9 June 2014.

    In July 2014, the Commission presented a Recommendation to the Council to authorise it to start negotiations on visa waiver agreements with each of the following 17 countries: Dominica, Grenada, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, the United Arab Emirates and Vanuatu.

    The negotiations on the visa waiver agreement with Vanuatu were opened on 19 November 2014 in Brussels. The agreement was initialled by the chief negotiators on 4 December 2014.

    The Commission considers that the objectives set by the Council in its negotiating directives were attained and that the draft visa waiver agreement is acceptable to the Union.

    CONTENT: the Commission proposes that the Council approve the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Vanuatu on the short-stay visa waiver.

    The content of the agreement may be summarised as follows:

    Purpose and duration of stay: the agreement provides for visa-free travel for the citizens of the European Union and for the citizens of Vanuatu when travelling to the territory of the other Contracting Party for a maximum period of 90 days in any 180-day period. The agreement takes into account the situation of the Member States that do not yet apply the Schengen acquis in full. As long as they are not part of the Schengen area without internal borders, the visa waiver confers a right for the nationals of Vanuatu to stay for 90 days in any 180-day on the territory of each of those Member States (Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Romania), independently of the period calculated for the whole Schengen area.

    A provision has been included in the agreement stating that Vanuatu may suspend or terminate the agreement only in respect of all the Member States of the European Union and that the Union may also only suspend or terminate the agreement in respect of all of its Member States

    Scope of the application: the visa waiver covers all categories of persons (ordinary, diplomatic, service/official and special passport holders) travelling for all kinds of purposes, except for the purpose of carrying out a paid activity. For this latter category, each Member State and also Vanuatu remain free to impose the visa requirement on the citizens of the other Party in accordance with the applicable Union or national law.

    The Member States and Vanuatu reserve the right to refuse entry into and short stay in their territories if one or more of these conditions are not met.

    Territorial application: in the case of France and the Netherlands, the visa waiver would entitle nationals of Vanuatu to stay only in those Member States’ European territories.

    The provisions of the Agreement do not apply to the United Kingdom and Ireland.

    The Agreement establishes a Joint Committee for the management of the Agreement, which shall adopt its rules of procedure.

activities/0/commission/0
DG
Commissioner
AVRAMOPOULOS Dimitris
other/0
body
EC
dg
commissioner
AVRAMOPOULOS Dimitris
activities
  • date: 2015-03-05T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0101/COM_COM(2015)0101_EN.pdf title: COM(2015)0101 type: Legislative proposal published celexid: CELEX:52015PC0101:EN type: Legislative proposal published body: EC commission:
committees
  • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Foreign Affairs committee: AFET
  • body: EP responsible: True committee_full: Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs committee: LIBE
links
other
    procedure
    legal_basis
    reference
    2015/0052(NLE)
    title
    EU/Vanuatu Agreement: short-stay visa waiver
    geographical_area
    Vanuatu
    stage_reached
    Preparatory phase in Parliament
    subtype
    Consent by Parliament
    type
    NLE - Non-legislative enactments
    subject