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.

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.

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.

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.

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.