Brussels, 15/12/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 15 December, the European Parliament approved draft agreements between the European Union and nine third countries on short-stay visa exemptions, which have already been applied provisionally since May 2015.
Meeting at the plenary session in Strasbourg, the MEPs approved these draft agreements of the Council of the EU by very large majorities, in nine separate votes. They approved the conclusion of agreements between the EU and Dominica, Vanuatu, Trinidad and Tobago, Samoa, Granada, Timor-Leste, St Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and the United Arab Emirates.
These agreements set in place a travel regime with no visa obligations for the citizens of the Union and nationals of these third countries visiting the territory of another contracting party for up to 90 days within any period of 180 days. The United Kingdom and Ireland, plus the non-European territories of France and the Netherlands, are not participating in these agreements and will not be bound by their provisions.
The rapporteur of the EP, Mariya Gabriel (EPP, Bulgaria), spoke out against the practice of assigning and applying these agreements before they have been approved by the EP. Gabriel said that this practice restricts the EP's margin for manoeuvre, particularly as it is not kept abreast of the progress in the bilateral negotiations. (Original version in French by Jan Kordys)