Brussels, 15/11/2002 (Agence Europe) - The "Competitiveness" Council had a debate on Thursday with Commissioner Antonio Vitorino over residence permits or cards granted to Community nationals and their families in another Member State than their own. The aim is to arrive at a common position by the summer of 2003. Presented in May 2001 by the Commission's Justice, Home Affairs Directorate General, the issue is now, however, being treated from the point of view of the free movement of persons within the internal market. The proposal's aim is to harmonise the conditions for the granting and control of residence rights (and possibly expulsion), in Member states that have such a system of registration. The Commission proposed that European citizens be able to be registered automatically for a period of six months to four years, on the basis of a simple statement of resources. A permanent residence right would be granted to them after four years of residence. The Danish presidency put three questions to the policy debate:
Nature of registration. Member states are divided over the need to make Community nationals register their presence on the territory of another Member state. The presidency proposed a compromise providing for prior controls being made only in specific cases and if there is manifest abuse. France, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Denmark back this approach, and Spain and Portugal could rally around it. Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium and Ireland would like to be able to undertake more systematic controls. The Netherlands, notably, placed emphasis on the risks for its social security system. "We are generous, but we don't want to be taken for a ride", declared the country's representative, according to Community sources. Commissioner Vitorino put forward the good example of France, Spain, Germany and Italy, that had undertaken to abolish the registration permit, at the informal JHA Council of July 2000.
Concept of "family member". The presidency noted that there was not enough support for the Commission's ideas, proposing to include in the "family" ascendants and descendants for several generations, whatever their age (children and grandchildren included). The majority of Member states would like to introduce two restrictive criteria: age and financial dependence.
Right of expulsion. The Commission would like to limit the possibility of expelling Community nationals, as, it says, it is contrary to the notion of European citizenship and the idea of a European area of freedom. The majority of Member states would, however, like to retain this possibility, for reasons of public order. The presidency proposed retaining it for "particularly serious" disturbances to the public order. Talks are continuing, between those who want to extend the possibility of expulsion beyond "particularly serious" reasons (like Luxembourg and Spain), those wanting to restrict it to extreme cases (like the United Kingdom) and those which could have accepted the presidency's formula.