The European Parliament adopted by 565 votes to 52, with 28 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 Federated States of Micronesia on the short-stay visa waiver.

In line with the recommendation made by the 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 the Solomon Islands 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 provisions of the Agreement shall not apply to the United Kingdom or Ireland.

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 Federated States of Micronesia on the short-stay visa waiver.

The committee recommended that Parliament give its consent to conclusion of the agreement.

To recall, the agreement provides for visa-free travel for the citizens of the European Union and for the citizens of the Solomon Islands 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 agreement was signed on 19 September 2016 in New York. Since that date, the agreement has been applied provisionally.

The report is accompanied by a short justification stating that the agreement represents a culmination of the deepening of relations between the European Union and the Federated States of Micronesia - 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.

On an economic level: the visa waiver agreement could have positive effects by simplifying travel for businesspeople, facilitating investment and boosting tourism. The Federated States of Micronesia’s economy is based primarily on the service sector, which accounts for 74 % of its GDP, with a booming tourism sector. Relations with the European Union have strengthened since 2000, when the Federated States of Micronesia became part of the Cotonou Agreement.

While European Union trade relations with the Federated States of Micronesia are currently very limited, they have potential for development. The European Union is currently negotiating a comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with fourteen Pacific countries, including the Federated States of Micronesia.

Politically, the Federated States of Micronesia is a democratic republic completely committed to human rights, which are guaranteed under the Constitution. The European Union's political dialogue with Micronesia focuses on protecting its vulnerable environment, especially in relation to climate change and defending human rights and gender issues. In this context, the visa waiver agreement represents a significant step towards more regular and enhanced political dialogues.

As regards mobility, the information available indicates that confidence in visa applicants is high and the rate of refusal of visas is low. In 2014 and 2015, no nationals of the Federated States of Micronesia were arrested for being illegally present in the European Union and no refusal of entry at the European Union external border or return decision were taken concerning Micronesian nationals. Furthermore, no asylum applications have been submitted by nationals of the Federated States of Micronesia. In this context, the country does not represent any threat in terms of either irregular migration or of security and public order.

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

• called on the Commission to observe any developments in relation to issues of clandestine immigration, public policy and security, but also the Union’s external relations with the third countries concerned, including, in particular, considerations relating to respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms;
• called on the Commission and the authorities of Tuvalu 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 so that Parliament might be involved in the work of the Joint Committee.

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 that is liable to reduce Parliament’s room for manoeuvre.

PURPOSE: to conclude, on behalf of the European Union, the Agreement between the European Union and the Federated States of Micronesia 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 Union an agreement with the Federated States of Micronesia on the short-stay visa waiver.

In accordance with a Council Decision, the Agreement has been signed and is applied on a provisional basis. The Agreement should now be approved on behalf of the Union.

CONTENT: this draft Council Decision seeks to approve on behalf of the Union, the Agreement between the European Union and the Federated States of Micronesia on the short-stay visa waiver.

The Agreement provides for visa-free travel for the citizens of the European Union and for the citizens of Micronesia 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 provisions of the Agreement do not apply to the United Kingdom or to Ireland.

The Agreement sets up a Joint Committee of experts for the management of the Agreement.

The Commission, assisted by the representatives of the Member States, shall represent the Union within the Joint Committee of experts.

For further details on the other main elements of the Agreement, please refer to the summary of the Commission’s initial legislative proposal from 8.4.2016.

PURPOSE: to conclude the Agreement between the European Union and the Federated States of Micronesia 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 a visa when crossing the external borders of the Member States and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement.

Regulation (EU) No 509/2014 was adopted on 20 May 2014 and entered into force on 9 June 2014. It is applied by all Member States with the exception of Ireland and the United Kingdom.

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.

The first series of visa waiver agreements were signed on 6 May 2015 (United Arab Emirates), 26 May 2015 (Timor-Leste) and 28 May 2015 (Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Trinidad and Tobago and Vanuatu) and provisionally apply from the date of signature pending their entry into force. The Council has authorised the signature of a second series of visa waiver agreements with Tonga (signed on 20 November 2015), Colombia (signed on 2 December 2015), Kiribati (date of signature to be determined) and Palau (signed on 7 December 2015). These four agreements provisionally apply from the day following the date of signature pending their entry into force.

The negotiations with Micronesia were opened on 17 December 2014. The agreement was initialled by an exchange of letters between the chief negotiators on 16 December 2015 (Micronesia) and 13 January 2016 (Union). 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 calls on the Council to adopt a decision aiming to approve the Agreement between the European Union and the Federated States of Micronesia on the short-stay visa waiver.

The final 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 Micronesia when travelling to the territory of the other Contracting Party for a maximum period of 90 days in any 180-day period. A joint declaration on the interpretation of this period of 90 days in any 180-day period is attached to the agreement. 

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 Micronesia to stay for 90 days in any 180-day on the territory of each of those Member States (currently 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 Micronesia 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: 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 those travelling to carry out a paid activity, each Member State and also Micronesia remain free to impose the visa requirement on the citizens of the other Party in accordance with the applicable Union or national law. A joint declaration is attached to the agreement on the interpretation of the category of persons travelling for the purpose of carrying out a paid activity.

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

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

A joint declaration on the association of Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis is annexed to the agreement.

Lastly, the Agreement sets up a Joint Committee of experts for the management of the Agreement.

PURPOSE: to conclude the Agreement between the European Union and the Federated States of Micronesia 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 a visa when crossing the external borders of the Member States and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement.

Regulation (EU) No 509/2014 was adopted on 20 May 2014 and entered into force on 9 June 2014. It is applied by all Member States with the exception of Ireland and the United Kingdom.

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.

The first series of visa waiver agreements were signed on 6 May 2015 (United Arab Emirates), 26 May 2015 (Timor-Leste) and 28 May 2015 (Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Trinidad and Tobago and Vanuatu) and provisionally apply from the date of signature pending their entry into force. The Council has authorised the signature of a second series of visa waiver agreements with Tonga (signed on 20 November 2015), Colombia (signed on 2 December 2015), Kiribati (date of signature to be determined) and Palau (signed on 7 December 2015). These four agreements provisionally apply from the day following the date of signature pending their entry into force.

The negotiations with Micronesia were opened on 17 December 2014. The agreement was initialled by an exchange of letters between the chief negotiators on 16 December 2015 (Micronesia) and 13 January 2016 (Union). 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 calls on the Council to adopt a decision aiming to approve the Agreement between the European Union and the Federated States of Micronesia on the short-stay visa waiver.

The final 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 Micronesia when travelling to the territory of the other Contracting Party for a maximum period of 90 days in any 180-day period. A joint declaration on the interpretation of this period of 90 days in any 180-day period is attached to the agreement. 

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 Micronesia to stay for 90 days in any 180-day on the territory of each of those Member States (currently 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 Micronesia 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: 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 those travelling to carry out a paid activity, each Member State and also Micronesia remain free to impose the visa requirement on the citizens of the other Party in accordance with the applicable Union or national law. A joint declaration is attached to the agreement on the interpretation of the category of persons travelling for the purpose of carrying out a paid activity.

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

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

A joint declaration on the association of Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis is annexed to the agreement.

Lastly, the Agreement sets up a Joint Committee of experts for the management of the Agreement.