Ecuadorians are one of the few Latin Americans who have yet to apply for a Schengen visato enter 22 countries of the European Union (EU) and four of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).
The Ecuadorian government has indicated that the respective steps have been taken to remove this entry requirement from compatriots, a privilege already enjoyed by several nations in Latin America, including the neighboring countries of Colombia and Peru.
On Thursday, December 1, the efforts finally began to bear fruit, when the Committee on Freedoms of the European Parliament gave its support for allow citizens of Ecuador to travel to the EU without the need for a visa for stays up to 90 days.
The MEPs supported with 42 votes in favor and 16 against a draft report in this regard, which also includes the Arab countries of Kuwait, Qatar and Oman.
The Schengen area is made up of: Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Slovenia, Spain, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Holland, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic , Sweden and Switzerland.
Procedure
The bill will now have to be dealt with and voted on by the plenary session of the European Parliament, on a date that has been reported.
Mauricio Gándara, former government minister and former Ecuadorian ambassador, told El Universo that the time it will take the European Parliament to analyze, debate and vote on the report cannot be determined.
“The time it takes to get to the vote is unpredictable because Europe is badly hit by the war between Russia and Ukraine, and they are suffering the ravages of this”, estimated Gándara. “While the Russians are getting rich from oil and gas prices, the other Europeans are paying dearly for these resources. They are having more serious problems to analyze. Added to this is the large migration (from Africa and Asia) that they are receiving, especially countries like France and Italy,” he added.
In any case, if the report is finally approved by Parliament, it will then go to the Council of the EU to negotiate the final form of the legislation.
And once the law has entered into force, each visa waiver would be negotiated bilaterally between the EU and third countries. (YO)
Source: Eluniverso
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