On Wednesday 16 January, the European Parliament adopted the report by Kinga Gál (EPP, Hungary) by 600 votes to 35 with 6 abstentions, regarding new rules allowing people who lose their passports or are robbed when travelling outside the EU to obtain temporary documents from the consulate of a European Union Member State as soon as possible.
The new legislation strengthens the security features of these temporary travel documents. The new temporary travel document would be valid for a maximum of 15 days and could be used by those who lose their passports to return home. The procedure for verifying the identity of applicants and issuing an emergency travel document for them should take a maximum of 4 days.
The Commission proposed these new rules in May 2018 (see EUROPE 12031), explains the European Parliament. This is a consultation procedure; therefore, the file will not go into trilogues, says a Council source. The latter has not yet adopted its decision and will try to do so under the Romanian Presidency. Some discussions have taken place since the end of May, but more on the organisation of work in the Council, as consular protection can fall under several groups, said a Council source. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)