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 Tuvalu 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 Tuvalu 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 1 July 2016 in Brussels.
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 Tuvalu -
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.
- Tuvalu’s economy is
primarily based on services (more than 60% of GDP), including
Internet services, with the sale of licences to use the .tv domain
name constituting a major source of government revenue. Agriculture
and fishing account for more than 20% of GDP. Tourism is relatively
limited. Tuvalu also remains dependent on international development
assistance, and there are still major economic disparities between
the islands in the archipelago. The EU is currently
negotiating Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements with 14
Pacific countries, including Tuvalu.
- Politically, Tuvalu is a
stable parliamentary democracy; it is a member of the Commonwealth.
The two main issues in the political dialogue between the EU and
Tuvalu are, firstly, environmental protection and climate change
and, secondly, protection of human rights and gender equality. The
agreement allows a balanced, regular and in-depth political
dialogue on these issues, which remain priorities for the
EU.
- With regard to mobility,
the data available show that the visa refusal rate for nationals of
Tuvalu and of the other Pacific island states is very low. However,
it is complicated for Tuvalu nationals to make visa applications
because Schengen Area countries’ consulates are so far away.
Migration is directed more towards Australia and New Zealand. The
country does not therefore pose any threat in terms of irregular
migration, migration flows, security or public policy.
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.