ANNEX TO THE RESOLUTION

RECOMMENDATIONS AS TO THE CONTENT OF THE PROPOSAL REQUESTED

The European Parliament considers that the legislative act to be adopted should:

1. FORM AND TITLE OF THE INSTRUMENT TO BE ADOPTED

— be a separate legal act to be adopted in the form of a regulation entitled ‘Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a European Humanitarian Visa’,

2. LEGAL BASIS

— have point (a) of Article 77(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) as its legal basis,

3. JUSTIFICATION

— be justified by:

— the current legal gap in Union law which, in addition to resettlement procedures applicable to vulnerable refugees, does not provide for procedures, either in the visa acquis or in the borders or asylum acquis, for the admission to the territory of the Member States of persons seeking protection, with an estimated 90 % of the persons subsequently being recognised as refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection reaching the territory of the Member States irregularly (1), often through life-threatening routes,

— the risk of fragmentation as Member States increasingly set up their own programmes of humanitarian admission and procedures, going against the general aim under Article 78(1) TFEU to develop a common policy on asylum, subsidiary protection and temporary protection, and leading also to the risk that these different schemes undermine the uniform application of the common provisions on entry to the territory of the Member States of third-country nationals as laid down in the Regulations (EC) No 810/2009 (2) and (EU) 2016/399 (3) of the European Parliament and of the Council,

— the high costs, in human but also in social, economic and budgetary terms, associated with the status quo for the third-country nationals concerned (smuggler fees, risk of trafficking and exploitation, risk of persecution, risk of death and ill treatment, etc.) and for Member States and the Union (elevated budget for search and rescue, including for private shipping, border protection, cooperation with third countries, asylum procedures and possibly return in case of rejected applications for international protection as well as the fight against organised crime, trafficking and smuggling etc.),

— the added value of Union action, in terms of ensuring compliance with Union values, including fundamental rights, mutual trust between Member States and confidence in the system by asylum seekers, legal certainty, foreseeability, and the uniform application and implementation of the rules, the achievement of economies of scale, and the reduction of the above-cited costs of the status quo,

— recall that Directive 2013/32/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (4) and Regulation (EU) No 604/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (5) only apply on the territory of the Member States, while there are, at present, insufficient legal ways for asylum applicants to reach that territory,

— recall that, after the submission of an asylum application in a Member State, the provisions of the Union’s Common European Asylum System apply,

— stress that a refusal of an application for a European Humanitarian Visa does not affect in any way the right to apply for asylum within the Union nor does it prevent the applicant from entering other available protection schemes,

4. GENERAL PROVISIONS

— have as an objective the laying down of provisions on the procedures and conditions under which a Member State may issue a European Humanitarian Visa to persons seeking international protection to allow those persons to enter the territory of the Member State issuing the visa for the sole purpose of making an application for international protection in that Member State,

— cover in its scope third-country nationals who must be in possession of a visa when crossing the external borders of the Member States, pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 (6), and where the claims of exposure to or risk of persecution as defined in Directive 2011/95/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (7) are manifestly well founded, but who are not already in a resettlement process as defined in national resettlement schemes or in the proposed Regulation establishing a Union Resettlement Framework and amending Regulation (EU) No 516/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (8) or Council Directive 2001/55/EC (9),

— exclude from its scope family members who would otherwise have a right to join their family in a Member State in a timely manner in accordance with other legal acts of the Union or national law,

5. PROCEDURES FOR ISSUING HUMANITARIAN VISAS

— provide for such visa applications to be lodged directly, by electronic means or in writing, at any consulate or embassy of the Member States,

— provide for practical modalities for such visa applications, including the filling out of an application form, the provision of information on the applicant’s identity, including biometric identifiers, and the provision of reasons, as far as possible documented, of the fear of persecution or serious harm,

— provide that the applicant for such a visa be invited to an interview (with the assistance of an interpreter if necessary), which may also be conducted by remote means of audio and video communication, which ensure an appropriate level of safety, security and confidentiality,

— provide that the documents submitted be assessed, including as regards their authenticity, by a competent, independent, and impartial authority, with adequate knowledge and expertise in matters of international protection,

— provide that applications for such a visa be assessed on the basis of the applicant’s declaration and interview and, where available, supporting documentation, without conducting a full status determination process,

— provide that, before the issuing of such a visa, each applicant be subject to a security screening, through the relevant national and Union databases in full respect of applicable data protection provisions, in order to ensure that he or she does not pose a security risk,

— provide that such visa applications be decided on within 15 calendar days of the date of lodging the application,

— provide that the decision on the application be communicated to the applicant and that it be individualised, written and motivated,

— provide that a third-country national refused such a visa has the possibility for an appeal as is currently foreseen in the case of a refusal of a short-stay visa or a refusal of entry at the border,

6. ISSUING A HUMANITARIAN VISA

— provide for such visas to be issued by means of a common sticker and inserted into the Visa Information System,

— provide that once a humanitarian visa is issued it allows its holder to enter the territory of the Member State issuing the visa for the sole purpose of making an application for international protection in that Member State,

7. ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGEMENT AND ORGANISATION

— provide that applications for such a visa be assessed by properly trained staff,

— provide that such staff may either be posted in embassies or consulates or in Member States, in the event of which applications be electronically transmitted and interviews conducted remotely,

— provide that certain aspects of the process, which do not entail any pre-selection of cases, assessment or decision making of any kind, may be managed by external service providers, including the provision of information, the management of appointments for interviews, and the collection of biometric identifiers,

— provide that appropriate measures be put in place to ensure data protection, data security and confidentiality of communications,

— provide that Member States cooperate with each other, Union agencies, international organisations, governmental and non-governmental organisations and other relevant stakeholders to ensure its harmonised application,

— provide that information on the procedures and conditions of such a visa as well as about the conditions and procedures to obtain international protection in the territory of the Member States be made widely available, including on the websites of the Member States’ embassies and consulates and via the European External Action Service,

8. FINAL PROVISIONS

— provide for significant financial support from the Integrated Border Management Fund to be made available to Member States for its implementation,

— provide that a Member State that issues such a humanitarian visa has access to the same compensation from the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund as when a Member State receives a refugee through the European Resettlement Framework,

9. AMENDMENT OF OTHER LEGAL ACTS

— provide for amendments to:

— Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 to clarify that for persons seeking international protection the provisions of the Regulation establishing a European Humanitarian Visa apply,

— Regulation (EC) No 767/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council (10) to provide for applications for a European Humanitarian Visa to be entered into the Visa Information System,

— Regulation (EU) 2016/399 to adjust the entry conditions for persons who have obtained a European Humanitarian Visa,

— the Integrated Border Management Fund to provide funding for Member States for the implementation of the Regulation establishing a European Humanitarian Visa,

— Article 26 of the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement of 14 June 1985 between the Governments of the States of the Benelux Economic Union, the Federal Republic of Germany and the French Republic on the gradual abolition of checks at their common borders (11) and to Council Directive 2001/51/EC (12) in order to exempt carriers transporting third-country nationals from liability, obligations and penalties where the third-country nationals involved declare their intention to apply for international or humanitarian protection in the territory of the Member States.

(1) HEIN / DONATO (CIR) 2012: exploring avenues for protected entry in Europe, p. 17.

(2) Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 establishing a Community Code on Visas (Visa Code) (OJ L 243, 15.9.2009, p. 1).

(3) Regulation (EU) 2016/399 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2016 on a Union Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders (Schengen Borders Code) (OJ L 77, 23.3.2016, p. 1).

(4) Directive 2013/32/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on common procedures for granting and withdrawing international protection (OJ L 180, 29.6.2013, p. 60).

(5) Regulation (EU) No 604/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 establishing the criteria and mechanisms for determining the Member State responsible for examining an application for international protection lodged in one of the Member States by a third-country national or a stateless person (OJ L 180, 29.6.2013, p. 31).

(6) Council Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 of 15 March 2001 listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement (OJ L 81, 21.3.2001, p. 1).

(7) Directive 2011/95/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on standards for the qualification of third-country nationals or stateless persons as beneficiaries of international protection, for a uniform status for refugees or for persons eligible for subsidiary protection, and for the content of the protection granted (OJ L 337, 20.12.2011, p. 9).

(8) 2016/0225(COD).

(9) Council Directive 2001/55/EC of 20 July 2001 on minimum standards for giving temporary protection in the event of a mass influx of displaced persons and on measures promoting a balance of efforts between Member States in receiving such persons and bearing the consequences thereof (OJ L 212, 7.8.2001, p. 12).

(10) Regulation (EC) No 767/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008 concerning the Visa Information System (VIS) and the exchange of data between Member States on short-stay visas (VIS Regulation) (OJ L 218, 13.8.2008, p. 60).

(11) OJ L 239, 22.9.2000, p. 19.

(12) Council Directive 2001/51/EC of 28 June 2001 supplementing the provisions of Article 26 of the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement of 14 June 1985 (OJ L 187, 10.7.2001, p. 45).