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 Grenada 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 Grenada 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 Grenada – 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.
- In the economic sphere,
Grenada, whose economy is heavily dependent on exports of bananas
and spices, has taken measures to transform and substantially
diversify the economy, in particular with tourism and construction
gaining ground. Like all small island developing countries, Grenada
faces many challenges because of its size, remoteness from markets.
Visa liberalisation will simplify travel and make it possible to
dynamise tourism and impart fresh impetus to trade.
- As regards the political and institutional
situation, Grenada is a stable,
democratic country, which, like the European Union, defends the
values and principles of democracy, good governance and respect for
human rights and the rule of law. The country stresses its
commitment to human rights and is committed to improving its human
rights machinery. Recent proposals for constitutional reform
to promote and protect human rights, and the legislative reforms
which have been undertaken, particularly the adoption of the new
law on family violence and a new law on child protection. The
conclusion of this agreement will make it possible to step up
cooperation and intensify dialogue in many fields, including that
of human rights.
- With regard to mobility,
with the rate of refusal of visas being low, the country does not
present any threat in terms either of irregular migration or of
security and public policy.
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 Grenada 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.