Brussels, 21/09/2015 (Agence Europe) - In a press release published on Thursday 17 September, two tourism organisations called on EU member states to adopt as swiftly as possible the European Commission's draft regulation that seeks to simplify procedures for issuing short-stay visas. This is a measure, the organisations say, which could provide a boost to the sector and Europe's economy.
Citing the Commission's 2014 legislative proposal to revise the EU visa code, simplifying procedures for issuing short-stay visas within the Schengen Area (COM (2014) 163 final), ECTAA, the confederation grouping Europe's travel agents' and tour operators' associations, and CLIA Europe, which represents Europe's cruise operators, say existing bureaucratic bottlenecks within the current regime are keeping more than six million would-be tourists from third countries from visiting the continent.
Europe, the organisations argue, is becoming “one of the world's most restrictive regions in terms of visa requirements for foreign tourists” and they point out that this is a situation that benefits other parts of the world, including China, India and Russia. As a consequence, the tourism industry in the Schengen area loses out on a potential €5.5 billion every year, adding up to approximately 113,000 jobs in the tourism sector, indicates a Commission study from 2013.
In summary, the Commission is proposing to abrogate the rule that requires visa applicants to submit their application in person, to clarify requirements in terms of documents to be submitted, to establish shorter timescales and to make use of modern means of communication for interviews with applicants.
“This has come at the wrong time, given the refugee crisis”, acknowledged a source close to the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity. “Progress has to be made, however, despite the issue of humanitarian visas”, the source added.
A policy debate will be held at the Justice and Home Affairs Council on 8 October. In the European Parliament, Juan Fernando Lopez Aguilar (S&D, Spain), rapporteur for the civil liberties, justice and home affairs (LIBE) committee on the recasting of the EU visa regimes, is a keen supporter of the Commission proposal. “The issue is the way in which a visa may be applied for and not the criteria that need to be fulfilled for the issuing of a visa”, he says in his report. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)