Ilhan Kyuchyuk: Walls have no place in relations between Bulgaria and North Macedonia
March 1, 2021
Kyuchyuk’s report on North Macedonia was voted with large majority
March 29, 2021
The Legal Affairs Committee of the EP voted decisively majority for full visa reciprocity and equal treatment of all european citizens.
On March 1, members of the Committee on Legal Affairs of the European Parliament voted in favor of the request be referred to the European court for failure to act by the European Commission. The reason for this is its unfulfilled obligation to adopt a delegated act to temporarily suspend the exemption from the visa requirement for US citizens, as the visa requirement has not been abolished for all citizens of Member States, affecting the citizens of Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia and Cyprus.
MEP Ilhan Kyuchyuk pointed out that visa reciprocity, which is the basis of EU visa policy means that all EU citizens traveling to a third country should be subject to the same conditions as those accorded to nationals of that country when traveling for the EU. In case of violation of this principle is established procedure with specific deadlines and actions that must be taken – including even the suspension of visa exemptions.
“In this process, the duties and powers of the European Commission, Parliament and Council are clearly regulated. The Commission has a precise and unconditional obligation to adopt a delegated act suspending visa reciprocity on the sole condition that visa requirements continue to exist for European citizens within 24 months of notification of this infringement. In the case of the United States, this condition was met on April 12, 2016, and since then the European Parliament has repeatedly reminded the Commission of this commitment, ” said the Bulgarian MEP.
Kyuchyuk is adamant that their inaction, the European Commission, as “guardian of the treaties” undermines the credibility of the institutions. This is a dangerous signal, on the one hand domestic, for the tolerance and different treatment of the citizens of Bulgaria, Romania, Cyprus and Croatia compared to, for example, those of Hungary, Lithuania or Portugal. On the other hand, geopolitical – Europe would rather behave like a political dwarf on the world stage when diplomatic embarrassing than to be truly united.
“Considering the diplomatic sensitivity and the need for finding the right means to achieve optimum results in relations with the US, but I think it is high time the Commission to fulfill its commitments and to show that the different treatment of European citizens is unacceptable. That is why, in the Committee on Legal Affairs voted with the majority to decisively challenging the inaction of the European Commission to protect the rights and interests of all European citizens. “, said Kyuchyuk.
The European Parliament, represented by its President David Sassoli, is due to refer the infringement to the European Court of Justice by 4 March.
Тази публикация е достъпна и на следните езици: Bulgarian
