The current political situation, of a government in Spain favorable to the interests of Ecuador and the negotiations of the current President of the Republic, William Lassoit is crucial for the inclusion of Ecuador in the list of 61 countries in which the visa exemption regime applies to enter the European Union (EU).
The Ecuadorian president gave lights that the process is progressing on the right track when at the beginning of this month he thanked the Spanish MEPs Javier Zarzalejos, from the Popular Party (PP); and Juan Fernando López Aguilar, from the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE), for supporting the Ecuadorian desire to enter the EU without a visa.
Even in a statement from the Presidency of the Republic, it was reported at that time that Lasso contacted the President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sanchez (PSOE), to also express your gratitude. This after both met at the Palacio de la Moncloa, in the Spanish capital Madrid, in November 2021, and in August of this year in Quito, which reflects the good relations of both regimes.
“Ecuador’s aspiration is that the European Union exempts the Schengen visa for short stays (up to 90 days) and they will have the support of Spain,” said the Spanish head of state during his visit to Quito.
MEP Zarzalejos stated on his Twitter profile that what happened in Kuwait (regarding the validity of the death sentence) and the accusations about Qatar (of paying bribes to influence the European Parliament vote) cannot affect Ecuador, ” a country about whose democratic nature no one has expressed any reservations. That is why we will take the exemption of visas to Ecuador to the next plenary session in January “.
Even in interview with First fruits, Zarzalejos assured that in the European Parliament they would have the votes to form a simple majority (half plus one of the votes cast) and obtain the approval of the regulation in which the visa requirement for Ecuadorians is withdrawn.
“We have taken a step that is already important: the legislative commission has adopted the decision that Ecuador is part of the list of countries that do not need a visa to enter the Schengen territory. The next step is for this vote to be ratified by the plenary session of the European Parliament. And, from there, the decision will be adopted by the co-legislator that is the European Council, which brings together the governments. Then the technical procedures for the practical implementation of the measure have to be carried out”, says Zarzalejos.
After the approval of the European Parliament, the rest of the negotiations would be framed in the technical part to implement the measure, he asserted.
He also described as confusing the statements of the interior commissioner Ylva Johansson, who said that Ecuador would not be ready for the withdrawal of the visa. “Ecuador has successfully and efficiently introduced the biometric passport, which is an important requirement. It has also adopted legislation that is fully satisfactory for the issue of the return of people who enter or remain irregularly in the territory of the Union, through the Law of Human Mobility and the regulations”, affirmed Zarzalejos.
And he anticipates that “during the technical talks, between the European Commission and the Ecuadorian authorities, it will be possible to reach a perfectly satisfactory solution” in the negotiations to implement the measure.
The technical evaluation will be carried out in a maximum time of three months from the approval of the measure by the European Parliament.
In those three months the European Commission will assess compliance with the established criteria in article 1 of the Regulation for the exemption of the visa.
And once this report is available, negotiations for a bilateral implementation agreement between Ecuador and the EU will begin in three months, according to the Foreign Ministry at the time.
The implementation agreement should include the mandate for an annual evaluation of the benefits, achievements and potential improvements that can be implemented, linked to the reciprocal elimination of visas.
Finally, the waiver will apply from the date of entry into force of the visa waiver agreement (implementation agreement), which will be concluded with the EU.
The idea, says Zarzalejos, is that the steps are taken until the second half of 2023 when Spain will have to assume the presidency of the EU. “The Spanish government had already expressed its desire for this to take place. And in the second half of next year it will be the Spanish presidency of the European Union and we want the process to end there”. (YO)
Source: Eluniverso
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