Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-07-09-Speech-3-506"
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"en.20080709.42.3-506"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the Commission proposal to amend the Common Consular Instructions is urgently necessary in an EU of open borders. My group strongly supports Sarah Ludford’s report. I thank the rapporteur for the good cooperation, thanks to which the European Parliament’s Groups managed largely to agree on a joint text.
The Common Consular Instructions need to be redefined and adapted to the situation today. In future applicants for visas will be identified beyond any doubt by the collection of biometric data such as photographs and fingerprints.
It became clear in the past that some Member States, among them Germany, were interpreting and applying the existing rules differently and therefore not uniformly. In 2000, for example, German consulates and embassies were instructed to be less bureaucratic in issuing visas and when in doubt to decide to grant a visa. As a result of the generosity with which the German Embassy in Kiev tended to grant visas, the number of visas issued to Ukrainian nationals rose from about 150 000 in 1999 to about 300 000 in 2001, which led to a considerable rise in illegal immigrants in the Schengen area.
It is therefore urgently necessary to ensure that all Member States apply the rules on issuing Schengen visas in a uniform manner. My Group is in favour of seeking a compromise between the Council and the European Parliament, as Commissioner Barrot just suggested.
Our Group endorses nearly every point in Baroness Ludford’s report. The only points we cannot endorse concern the age limit for children and fingerprinting. We support the Commission’s proposal to set the age limit for children at six years. My Group considers it most important to keep to that age limit in order to prevent child trafficking in the European Union."@en1
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