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Procedure : 2016/2986(RSP)
Document stages in plenary
Document selected : O-000142/2016

Texts tabled :

O-000142/2016 (B8-1820/2016)

Debates :

PV 14/12/2016 - 20
CRE 14/12/2016 - 20

Votes :

PV 02/03/2017 - 6.5

Texts adopted :


Verbatim report of proceedings
Wednesday, 14 December 2016 - Strasbourg Revised edition

20. Obligations in the field of visa reciprocity (debate)
Video of the speeches
Minutes
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  Πρόεδρος. – Το επόμενο σημείο στην ημερήσια διάταξη είναι η συζήτηση επί της ερώτησης με αίτημα προφορικής απάντησης προς την Επιτροπή σχετικά με τις υποχρεώσεις στον τομέα της αμοιβαιότητας των θεωρήσεων του Claude Moraes, εξ ονόματος της Επιτροπής Πολιτικών Ελευθεριών, Δικαιοσύνης και Εσωτερικών Υποθέσεων  (Ο-000142/2016 - B8-1820/2016) (2016/2986(RSP)).

 
  
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  Claude Moraes, author. – Mr President, thank you for the invitation to answer questions in a previous debate. It was very kind of you to do so. What I will do on the Europol data leak debate, for which I was given no speaking time by my political group, is to answer Mrs in 't Veld in detail in the committee. I was informed in due course by Europol and, through full transparency, I will inform Mrs in 't Veld and the whole committee of how I was informed. Thank you for that opportunity. It is much welcomed.

We now come to the important oral question, which many colleagues have been waiting for, on the very important, compelling and urgent issue of visa reciprocity. As colleagues will know, this is an ongoing issue of urgency, not just for those five countries and the citizens of those five countries – Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia and Cyprus – but indeed a matter of principle for the whole House on questions of symmetry and equality in our relationship with the United States.

In 2013, Parliament and the Council adopted a regulation modifying, amongst other elements, the so-called reciprocity mechanism. It entered into force in January 2014. Under EU law and according to this mechanism, if a third country does not lift visa requirements 24 months after notification of a situation of non—reciprocity, the Commission is obliged to suspend the visa waiver for citizens of that country for 12 months, via a delegated act to which Parliament and the Council could object.

Notifications of five Member States – and I have named them – were published by the Commission on 12 April 2014. There were at times cases of non—reciprocity also affecting Australia, Japan and Brunei and all of them have now been solved. After 24 months had elapsed, on 12 April 2016, the Commission, instead of presenting the delegated act as we required, decided to publish a communication asking the Council and Parliament for their views. This communication was followed by another communication on 13 July updating the situation and again failing to fulfil the Commission’s obligations.

As Chair of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, it is my view that the reciprocity mechanism sets out a procedure with precise time frames and actions not subject to discretionality by the Commission. Therefore, the Commission is under an obligation to adopt a delegated act pursuant to Article 1(4)(f) of Regulation 539/2001.

As the Commissioner knows, on 7 June 2016, I sent a letter reminding you, Commissioner, of the legal obligations of the Commission here. On 12 October, during the exchange we had with you in the Civil Liberties Committee, the Commission was again urged to act and all the Members who took the floor made it clear that the Commission does have some more room for manoeuvre. This was our view.

In this context, and with an overwhelming majority, we have in the Civil Liberties Committee adopted the following oral question for answer today: do you share the legal assessment according to which the Commission is obliged to adopt a delegated act – temporarily suspending the exemption from the visa requirement for nationals of third countries which have not lifted the visa requirement for citizens of certain EU Member States – within a period of 24 months from the date of publication of the notifications in this regard, which ended on 12 April 2016? In the event that the Commission agrees with the assessment that it is obliged to adopt a delegated act, by when will the Commission present this delegated act? And finally, if the Commission does not agree, what are the reasons for not agreeing with that assessment?

This issue, as I said at the beginning of my presentation of this oral question, is not just about the deep and very understandable concerns of our colleagues from Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia and Cyprus; it is about the idea that we in the EU have the right to expect symmetry and equality with the United States in our relationship. We are right to expect fairness. The right to expect fairness is something that we have transmitted directly to our United States partners and to the State Department in Washington, and we did so respectfully and forcefully.

I believe now is the time that we need to find answers from the Commission on this very important issue. It is a troubling issue which is now persistent and this oral question comes at a time when I do believe my colleagues from these particular countries – but I do insist, well beyond those countries, and within the Civil Liberties Committee – want to find answers. So Commissioner, please try to answer these, I know, very difficult questions on visa reciprocity but which go to the heart of our relationship on visa fairness.

 
  
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  Dimitris Avramopoulos, Member of the Commission. – Mr President, honourable Members of the Parliament, let me start by telling you that I welcome the opportunity to discuss this very important matter, being already fully aware of your expectations. In October I discussed this with the members of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE). You will remember that, Mr Moraes. It should be clear that we all share the same objective. Full visa reciprocity is the central principle of our visa policy framework. With the United States and Canada it is a challenging and sensitive issue, and we all hope for tangible progress.

Before responding to the questions, let me start with the good news concerning Canada. As I told you in the past, I used the window of opportunity offered to us, the EU-Canada summit. A series of meetings and discussions were held ahead in order to reach a mutually satisfactory agreement. I took the plane myself to meet in person the Canadian Immigration Minister John McCallum, in order to address the real situation at political and not at technocratic level. We had a very constructive discussion with the minister and we agreed to engage in a political process to address each other’s concerns and make the lifting of visa obligations for Romania and Bulgaria possible. Indeed, and as I had hinted in my meeting with LIBE, Canada took a positive decision in line with the commitment of McCallum in July. At the summit Canada announced its decision to lift in late 2017 the visa requirements for all Bulgarian and Romanian citizens. Moreover, certain categories of Bulgarian and Romanian travellers who visited Canada in the past 10 years, or who currently possess a valid visa issued by the United States, will already become visa-free from 1 May 2017.

We all welcome very much this outcome. It is a strong indication that diplomatic channels and engagement can achieve positive results. On this point, I would like to thank Members of Parliament for their constructive contribution too. We worked in close coordination with Bulgaria and Romania and they played a central role in addressing Canadian concerns. We have to continue this path to ensure that full visa waiver is achieved. The Commission will continue to do its part, in full cooperation with both Member States.

Now the situation with the United States is different. While I continue discussions with our US partners, most recently at the EU-US JHA Ministerial Meeting on 5 December in Washington, there is no progress to report. But I want to assure you that I will keep this issue high on the agenda with the new administration and Congress. I will personally immediately engage in conference with my new counterparts. I call on all of you to give a chance for the political discussion to take place and to explain the mutual obligations, reservations, goals and work to find a solution.

It is very important to understand that the role of Congress is crucial. The visa waiver programme cannot be expanded without Congress, particularly if Member States do not meet the thresholds of US legislation. It seems certain that temporarily suspending the visa waiver for US citizens would immediately lead to a visa requirement imposed on all EU citizens. We are aiming for the opposite, not a reciprocal visa requirement but a reciprocal visa waiver. Let me be very clear. The Commission would not hesitate to adopt the respective acts if that would improve the situation of EU citizens, and lead to the visa waiver for all. At the same time, the Commission has a responsibility to inform you, the co-legislators, about negative consequences on the EU and its citizens from the implementation of our rules.

And this leads me to your questions. There is a regulation that says ‘the Commission shall adopt a delegated act’. But there are also other requirements and obligations to be followed which are difficult to reconcile with this obligation, and which are equally important. The same regulation says that: ‘the Commission shall take into account the consequences of the suspension of the exemption from the visa requirements for the external relations of the Union and its Member States with the third country in question’.

The approach we put forward back in April outlined these adverse consequences. We still consider that the negative impacts we identified, which were not questioned by other institutions and stakeholders, should be taken fully into account. If a visa requirement is reintroduced, it will be difficult to explain to millions of EU citizens travelling to the United States every year that the EU serves their interests and that the EU action was appropriate in this case. Would legal arguments be convincing for thousands of EU citizens that would likely lose their jobs due to the expected decrease of US visitors? I very much doubt it.

A recent study for the World Travel and Tourism Council suggests that suspending the visa waiver would annually lead to a 22% drop in visitors to the European Union, or 5.5 million fewer visitors from the United States and Canada. This will be equal to a loss of EUR 6.8 billion annually, risking the loss of 140 000 jobs in the tourism industry. The most affected Member States will be Italy, Spain, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Poland. I am asking the question: can we really afford that loss?

Dear Members of Parliament, we are in a very unpleasant situation, but determined to work to achieve visa-free travel for all EU citizens to the United States, as we managed to do with Canada. Let us work together in this effort.

 
  
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  Agustín Díaz de Mera García Consuegra, en nombre del Grupo PPE. – Señor Presidente, completamente de acuerdo con todo lo dicho por el señor Moraes. Pero quiero aclarar que hoy debatimos una cuestión de procedimiento, no de fondo.

Agradezco muy sinceramente las gestiones llevadas a cabo por la Comisión con Canadá, pero del mismo modo debo decir que lamento que la Comisión incumpla lo dispuesto en el Reglamento (CE) n.º 539/2001 que, en su artículo 1, apartado 4, letra f), dice claramente que, si en un plazo de veinticuatro meses tras la fecha de publicación de la notificación, el tercer país afectado no ha suprimido la obligación de visado, la Comisión adoptará un acto delegado por el que se modifique el anexo II y se suspenda por un periodo de doce meses la exención de visado para los nacionales del tercer país de que se trate —Estados Unidos—.

Su margen de maniobra es nulo y así lo corroboró el Tribunal de Justicia de la Unión en su sentencia de 16 de julio de 2015. En ningún momento se dice ahí que la Comisión presentará una comunicación o dos, o que haremos una pregunta oral en Pleno. Lo que la Comisión está haciendo con esta actitud es sencillamente incumplir el Reglamento.

Estamos entonces ante un claro problema interinstitucional y es necesario que la Comisión actúe como verdadera garante de los Tratados. Ante esta situación, pido que se respete el Reglamento y que se presente el acto delegado. Seremos nosotros entonces, los colegisladores, quienes debatiremos sobre la idoneidad y las consecuencias políticas, económicas y de otro tipo.

Lo que hay que hacer es lanzar el acto delegado porque es más importante que se les quite el visado a Polonia, a Rumanía, a Bulgaria, a Chipre y a Croacia. No hay progresos, señor Comisario, como usted dice, así es que lance el acto delegado.

 
  
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  Juan Fernando López Aguilar, en nombre del Grupo S&D. – Señor Presidente. Comisario Avramopoulos, intervengo para reforzar la voz de alarma, que ha sido expresada con claridad en nombre de toda la Comisión de Libertades Civiles, Justicia y Asuntos de Interior por su presidente, nuestro compañero Claude Moraes. Y también para subrayar los argumentos del portavoz del Partido Popular, Agustín Díaz de Mera. No se trata solamente de una cuestión de fondo, que es la falta de reciprocidad —inadmisible en una cuestión como la de los visados— por parte de los Estados Unidos.

Después de haberse completado con éxito el procedimiento con Brunei, con Canadá y con Japón, no se ha completado con éxito con los Estados Unidos, que continúan negando la política de visados común que corresponde al conjunto de la Unión Europea nada menos que a cinco países: Rumanía, Polonia, Bulgaria, Croacia y Chipre. Esa es la cuestión de fondo, una falta de reciprocidad que no tiene ningún viso de mejorar con la nueva administración Trump en la Casa Blanca. Todo lo contrario. Hay que decirlo con claridad.

Y, por tanto, de lo que se trata es de tener presente ese escenario de fondo, pero de exigir, también, que la Comisión cumpla el procedimiento previsto en el Reglamento básico de visados, que es la emisión de un acto delegado que deduzca las consecuencias de esta ausencia de reciprocidad en la relación con los Estados Unidos, en coherencia con diversas sentencias del Tribunal de Justicia. Porque —no se olvide— el alma de este Parlamento Europeo no es solamente una pregunta oral ante la Comisión. Es, también, recurrir ante el Tribunal de Justicia la ausencia de respuesta por parte de la Comisión.

Y esa ausencia de respuesta tiene que ser satisfecha cuanto antes. Un acto delegado que deduzca las consecuencias políticas y jurídicas de esta situación, que es políticamente intolerable, pero que jurídica y legalmente vincula y compele a la Comisión y al Comisario Avramopoulos. Se trata, por tanto, no solo de honrar esa demanda —que tantas veces ha sido subrayada por amplísima mayoría de esta Cámara— de que Rumanía, Bulgaria, Croacia y Chipre, además de Polonia, tengan exactamente el mismo tratamiento que el resto de los países de la Unión Europea, sino de que la Comisión hable de tú a tú con los Estados Unidos.

 
  
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  Филиз Хюсменова, от името на групата ALDE. – Г-н Председател, г-н Комисар, липсата на визова реципрочност със Съединените американски щати засяга милиони европейски граждани в България, Румъния, Хърватска, Кипър и Полша. Като гражданин на пряко засегната страна и като докладчик в сянка за ALDE по тази тема, съм силно и безрезервно ангажирана с постигането на реална визова реципрочност за европейците.

Досега нееднократно бе посочено от комисията по граждански свободи, правосъдие и вътрешни работи, че Европейската комисия е задължена да предприеме действия за справяне с липсата на визова реципрочност, като с делегиран акт временно преустанови безвизовия режим по отношение на гражданите на САЩ.

Отчитам дипломатическата чувствителност, както и необходимостта от намирането на правилния момент и средства за постигане на максимален резултат във взаимоотношенията със САЩ, но считам, че е крайно време Комисията да вземе решителна позиция и да покаже, че различното третиране на европейски граждани е недопустимо. Такова е мнението, което споделят и мнозинството от колегите ми в комисия LIBE на Европейския парламент.

Използвам момента отново и в този дебат да изтъкна, че бездействието на Европейската комисия създава усещането за двоен стандарт, за Европа на две скорости и за различни класи европейци. То определено подронва доверието в институциите на европейските граждани от засегнатите държави, но също така предопределя и начина, по който изглежда обединена Европа пред външния свят.

Ето защо призовавам Комисията да изпълни ролята си на пазител на договорите в защита на интересите на всички европейски граждани, като недвусмислено покаже административна воля за изпълнение на задълженията си и политическа сила да отвоюва достойно място на Европейския съюз на световната сцена.

 
  
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  Мария Габриел (PPE). – Г-н Председател, г-н Комисар, слушах много внимателно изложението Ви. В него откроявам три важни неща. Най-напред визовата реципрочност е основен принцип на общата визова политика на Европейския съюз. Радвам се, че така, както този въпрос е приоритетен за моята страна България, такъв е той и за Европейската комисия. Конкретните резултати с договореното поетапно премахване на визи за българи и румънци е доказателство, че само с координирани действия между Комисията и държавите членки – но тук е време да вземем предвид и Европейския парламент – можем да постигаме напредък.

Точно затова обръщам внимание и на втория аспект, за да продължим да говорим с един глас на международната сцена. Трябва да вземем много сериозно предвид, че сегашната ситуация създава усещане за различна категория страни и граждани на Европейския съюз. Тази негативна тенденция може да има много дългосрочни последици.

И накрая, благодаря Ви, г-н Комисар, за положените до момента усилия. Изпреварващо действие е ясното открояване на негативните последици от определени действия. Но и точно заради това призовавам за решително отстояване с всички инструменти на дипломацията, за да може, защитавайки авторитета на Европейския съюз, да отговорим на очакванията на всички европейски граждани.

(Ораторът приема да отговори на въпрос, зададен чрез вдигане на синя карта (член 162, параграф 8 от Правилника за дейността)).

 
  
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  Doru-Claudian Frunzulică (S&D), blue-card question. – In fact, I am Romanian and she is Bulgarian. We should ask the Commission together – and this is the question to you – why does the Commission not approach all the EU Member States in a non—discriminatory way? At the same time, why does it not apply the important values of solidarity and equality? I would also like also to hear from you if you asked the Commission why it did not comply with the obligation to adopt a delegated act, temporarily suspending, for 12 months, the visa waiver for nationals of a third country in those cases of non-respect of the visa reciprocity principle?

 
  
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  Мария Габриел (PPE), отговор на въпрос, зададен чрез вдигане на синя карта. – Аз искам да благодаря на румънския ми колега. Мисля, че той беше много ясен. Днес тук задаваме общи въпроси, искаме еднакво третиране спрямо всички страни – членки на Европейския съюз и искаме и чуваме внимателно какви са последиците от вземането на решения. Затова по-скоро се присъединявам към неговия призив – много ясно да отстояваме принципа си за това, че всички граждани на Съюза са такива и Европейският съюз да има достатъчно твърдост и на международната сцена да продължи да го прави, отстоявайки, пак казвам, нашите принципи. От това зависи нашата легитимност като Европейски съюз спрямо нашите граждани.

 
  
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  Момчил Неков (S&D). – Г-н Председател, г-н Комисар, от 13 април 2016 година Европейската комисия ясно показва, че предпочита да наруши собственото си законодателство, вместо да наложи визи за САЩ. Тази страна дискриминира гражданите на България, Румъния, Полша, Кипър и Хърватия.

Европейската комисия не показа солидарност с тези над 70 милиона европейци. Напротив, тя избра да наруши закона дори и след решение на Съда на Европейския съюз. Срамно е, че българското правителство на Бойко Борисов покорно мълчеше и продължава да мълчи по въпроса. Дори напротив, дава съгласие срещу дискриминацията на собствените си съграждани.

Ако българското правителство няма смелост да защити интереса на България, ще търся всички правни канали Европейската комисия да бъде съдена за своето бездействие. След месец пак тази същата Комисия няма да закъснее да критикува България чрез доказано неефективния механизъм за сътрудничество и проверка за неспазване на закона. Нима самата тя го прави? Законът важи за всички, не само за силния на деня.

 
  
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  Axel Voss (PPE). – Herr Präsident, Herr Kommissar! Ich kann die Kritik der Kolleginnen und Kollegen schon nachvollziehen. Natürlich ist es schön, wenn wir innerhalb der EU auch ein gemeinsames Visumsrecht haben, und wenn für kanadische und US-amerikanische Bürgerinnen und Bürger etwas gilt, so muss das auch andersherum gelten. Das kann ich durchaus verstehen. Die Gleichbehandlung ist eigentlich ja auch etwas, das gefordert werden muss und soll und an dem wir auch festhalten sollten.

Aber ich möchte auch sagen, dass es um das transatlantische Verhältnis jetzt nicht gerade zum Besten bestellt ist und dass man hier auch nicht Dinge wieder einreißen muss, die möglicherweise mit Mühe und Not aufgebaut worden sind. Also das heißt, nun wiederum für kanadische oder US-amerikanische Bürger eine Visumpflicht einzufordern, ist auch nicht richtig. Es steht meiner Meinung nach in keinem Verhältnis, eine Visumpflicht für die USA oder Kanada zu fordern, während wir gleichzeitig eine Visumfreiheit für Georgien und Ukraine haben.

 
  
 

Διαδικασία «Catch-the-Eye»

 
  
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  Андрей Ковачев (PPE). – Г-н Председател, г-н Комисар, Европейският съюз е силен тогова, когато говори с един глас. Затова механизмът за визова реципрочност изисква колективен и солидарен отговор, тогава, когато спрямо европейски граждани се прилагат дискриминационни визови ограничения. Защо, г-н Комисар, имаме тогава това законодателство, ако не го спазваме?

Смятам, че е недопустимо Европейската комисия да продължава да отлага прилагането на делегирания акт, с който да предложи временно суспендиране на безвизовия режим за граждани на САЩ. Смятам също така, че това възпрепятства не само осъществяването на директни бизнес контакти и партньорство, културния и туристически обмен помежду ни, но подкопава и нашите стратегически връзки и партньорски отношения.

За България постигането на пълна визова реципрочност е абсолютен приоритет и аз се радвам на усилията на българското правителство, които бяха положени, както по отношение на Канада, така и по отношение на САЩ, на всяка среща с представители на Конгреса, с представители на администрацията. Ние изискваме от тях това да се случи колкото се може по-бързо. За съжаление виждаме нежелание от страна и на Конгреса на САЩ, и на сегашната администрация да се направят стъпки в тази посока. Затова и призовавам Комисията да издаде този делегиран акт.

 
  
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  Νότης Μαριάς ( ECR). – Κύριε Πρόεδρε, η αμοιβαιότητα των θεωρήσεων συνιστά θεμελιώδες στοιχείο της κοινής πολιτικής θεωρήσεων της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης. Στόχος της κοινής πολιτικής είναι η επίτευξη πλήρους αμοιβαιότητας, της απαλλαγής από την υποχρέωση θεώρησης για όλα τα κράτη μέλη της Ένωσης. Βλέπουμε λοιπόν ότι οι Ηνωμένες Πολιτείες, ο Καναδάς μέχρι πριν λίγο, και το Μπρουνέι εξακολουθούν να επιβάλλουν την υποχρέωση θεώρησης σε πολίτες ορισμένων κρατών μελών της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης, παρά το γεγονός ότι για τους δικούς τους πολίτες ισχύει απαλλαγή από την υποχρέωση θεώρησης. Συγκεκριμένα, ακούσαμε ότι πρόκειται για τη Ρουμανία, τη Βουλγαρία, την Πολωνία, την Κροατία και την Κύπρο, δηλαδή οι πολίτες των χωρών αυτών έχουν διακριτική μεταχείριση από τις Ηνωμένες Πολιτείες. Θεωρώ σημαντική εξέλιξη αυτή που ειπώθηκε για τον Καναδά από την πλευρά του κυρίου Επιτρόπου. Επομένως θα πρέπει με μία φωνή να στηρίξουμε τις προσπάθειες της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης για ίση μεταχείριση όλων των πολιτών, για να μην υπάρχουν αυτές οι διακρίσεις.

 
  
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  Ivan Jakovčić (ALDE). – Gospodine predsjedniče, poštovani gospodine povjereniče, tko će poštovati europske zakone ako ne Komisija? Tko će štititi europsko pravo ako ne Europska komisija? Tko će štititi europske građane ako to neće činiti Europska komisija? I ovdje ne govorimo o nepovjerenju u zemlje članice koje još uvijek nemaju pravo na vizni reciprocitet, između ostaloga i u zemlju iz koje ja dolazim, Hrvatsku, čiji se građani u tom slučaju osjećaju građanima drugog reda.

Ovdje se radi o nepovjerenju u institucije Europske unije. Ne o nepovjerenju u zemlje članice, nego u institucije Europske unije. Nastavimo li s ovakvom politikom taktiziranja, koliko će nas to koštati? Koliko ćemo novaca izgubiti? Novci, kad su u pitanju principi, načela i poštovanje prava, moraju biti u drugom planu. Mislim da se jako dobro razumijemo kad govorimo o tome.

Očekujemo vašu direktivu, očekujemo vašu odluku, čim prije, da ne kažem odmah.

 
  
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  Marie-Christine Vergiat (GUE/NGL). – Monsieur le Président, les inégalités entre citoyens européens sont insupportables. Cette non-réciprocité pour les citoyens de certains pays en font, effectivement, comme cela a été dit, des citoyens de seconde, voire de troisième zone, puisque les Roumains et les Bulgares sont doublement pénalisés, une fois par le Canada et une fois par les États-Unis.

Vous nous dites que cela s’arrange pour le Canada, dont acte. Tant mieux! Il a quand même fallu le chantage de la Roumanie et de la Bulgarie pour non-signature du CETA pour que nous arrivions à quelques résultats. Mais il s’agit tout de même d’une bonne nouvelle. Je vous demanderai simplement pourquoi il faut attendre fin 2017 pour que cette mesure soit enfin mise en œuvre.

Il n’en est pas de même avec les États-Unis. Vous nous dites qu’il n’y a pas la moindre avancée avec ce pays. Alors, enclenchez la procédure! Il n’y a pas de solution. Si les États-Unis ne veulent rien entendre, il faut mettre en œuvre les règles qui existent. L’impact négatif ne serait pas que pour les citoyens européens, il serait aussi pour les citoyens américains.

Vos chiffres catastrophiques ne sont pas sérieux, Monsieur le Commissaire. Ce sont des hypothèses et c’est aussi un manque de confiance dans les institutions européennes. Soyez sûr de vous et discutez à armes égales avec les États-Unis. La Commission est la gardienne des traités, cela a été dit également. Si elle-même ne respecte pas les règles, c’est vrai que l’Union européenne est très mal en point.

 
  
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  Τάκης Χατζηγεωργίου ( GUE/NGL). – Κύριε Πρόεδρε, παίρνω τον λόγο όχι για να πω το αυτονόητο, ότι στηρίζω και εγώ τις φωνές των συναδέλφων για να αρθεί αυτή η αδικία που συμβαίνει σε πολλούς πολίτες της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης, να μη δίδει δηλαδή η αμερικάνικη κυβέρνηση αυτό που εμείς δίδουμε στην ίδια. Δεν πήρα τον λόγο μόνο για το αυτονόητο. Θέλω να πω ότι υπάρχει και συνευθύνη των κρατών μελών που απολαύουν αυτού του δικαιώματος και των συναδέλφων ευρωβουλευτών που προέρχονται από τα κράτη μέλη που απολαύουν αυτού του δικαιώματος, θεωρώ δε ότι ο κύριος Επίτροπος μπορεί να αξιοποιήσει τα κράτη μέλη που έχουν αυτό το δικαίωμα, έτσι ώστε να ασκηθεί περισσότερη πίεση, να μην ασκούν πίεση μόνο τα κράτη που τους αφορά αλλά και τα υπόλοιπα κράτη. Έχουν μια ευθύνη απέναντι σε αυτό το ζήτημα.

 
  
 

(Λήξη της διαδικασίας «Catch-the-Eye»)

 
  
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  Dimitris Avramopoulos, Member of the Commission. – Mr President, dear Members of the Parliament, I heard your interventions very carefully. I want to assure you again that we are on the same side. We share the same objective: that is, nothing less than full visa reciprocity for all our citizens. This is our goal. Our approach with Canada brought positive results. It was not the result of blackmailing. It was the result of frank and friendly negotiations, and I know that because I was behind it. We didn’t resort to unilateral suspensions there, we did not damage our bilateral relations. On the contrary, with patient engagement, diplomatic contacts and explanations from all sides, we managed to get a concrete roadmap to visa liberalisation. Your role, dear Members, was crucial in that respect.

Mr Díaz de Mera, Mr López Aguilar, the Commission, you know that, is a law-abiding institution. We are aware and conscious of our legal obligations, but as I said, it is not just about adopting the delegated acts, it is also about taking into account the consequences. I was very clear and frank before, not hiding behind pretexts, as I always am here. Even adopting the act will most likely result in retaliations by the United States. As I said: yes, it is an unpleasant situation, but I have been, and I will keep on being, open and frank with you.

I call on you to show some patience while the political transition in the United States is completed. Once the new Administration is fully in place, we will make the point as strongly as we can. EU citizens in their vast majority do not constitute a threat. For those very few that could potentially do so, our security framework is in place and is getting stronger every day. We will continue to work hard in close cooperation with the Member States, with all Member States concerned, and of course with you to resolve the remaining cases, and will keep you fully informed. Next week as we committed last July, we will present the state of play in a second follow-up to our April communication.

The road ahead will not be easy and we know it, but working together we can bring results in the case of the United States also.

 
  
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  Πρόεδρος. – Η συζήτηση έληξε.

Γραπτές δηλώσεις (άρθρο 162)

 
  
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  Tonino Picula (S&D), napisan. – Iako je Hrvatska najbliže od 5 država članica da ispuni službene kriterije i pridruži se programu za izuzeće od viza (Visa Waiver Programme), apsolutno je neprihvatljivo da se svi građani EU-a ne tretiraju jednako kada je slobodno kretanje građana u pitanju. Tim i više ako EU ima ambicije sklapanja trgovinskog sporazuma sa SAD-om o slobodnoj razmjeni roba i usluga. Slobodno kretanje ljudi mora biti preduvjet za slobodnu razmjenu robe i usluga. Europska pravila su jasna u tom pogledu. Nadam se da se ovo pitanje može uskoro riješiti te da će 5 preostalih država članica EU-a biti uključeno u program izuzeća od viza čime bi se izbjeglo uvođenje viza za američke građane prilikom putovanja u EU. Nedavni primjer postizanja viznog reciprociteta između EU-a i Kanade koja je ukinula vize za državljane Bugarske i Rumunjske pokazuje da je moguće. Ukoliko ne postignemo isti dogovor sa SAD-om, očekujem da Komisija poštuje svoje zakonske obveze i predstavi Delegirani akt kojim se otvara mogućnost suspenzije bezviznog režima za državljane SAD-a kada putuju u EU.

 
  
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  Емил Радев (PPE), в писмена форма. – На 1-ви януари 2017 г. България ще отбележи десет годишнината от своето членство в ЕС - десет години, в които ние непрекъснато се опитваме да се докажем, че сме равноправен партньор в Европа и по света. За съжаление тази борба продължава и фактът, че ние от България, наред с пет държави членки, сме единствените, които имаме нужда от визи, за да пътуваме до САЩ, е пример за двойни стандарти и неравноправно третиране на българските граждани.

Като български представител намирам такова отношение за неприемливо, особено от страна на Европейската комисия. Нейно задължение е да прилага законодателството на ЕС в защита на всички европейски граждани и държави членки. Недопустимо е интересите на международните ни партньори да бъдат поставяни над правата на европейците.

Затова настоявам Европейската комисия да спази законовото си задължение и да излезе колкото се може по-бързо с делегиран акт в съответствие с Регламент 1289/2013, за да може той да бъде обсъден от Европейския парламент и Съвета. Също така е необходимо ЕК да води активни преговори с новата президентска администрация в САЩ, за да продължат действията за премахване на американските визи за гражданите на петте държави членки. Вече имаме такъв положителен пример с Канада и се надявам в най-скоро време да видим решение на въпроса със САЩ.

 
  
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  Csaba Sógor (PPE), in writing. – The stand—off on the signature of CETA between Romania and Bulgaria and Canada, which ended in an agreement to remove visa obligations for the two eastern European countries by the end of 2017, showed that the enforcement of the EU visa reciprocity mechanism is indeed possible for all European countries if enough pressure is applied from the European side. It is sad, however, that when presenting this agreement, the President of the European Commission mentioned that the citizens of the countries in question are entitled to these visa rights, but on the other hand made it clear that this visa liberalisation is still dependent on the adoption of the trade agreement. I believe that it is time that the Commission, instead of issuing communications, took concrete measures to ensure that third countries stop differentiating between EU Member States and between EU citizens.

 
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