Visa’s are becoming a major issue between Canada and the European Union. An April 12th deadline came and went with no announcement of further developments, but at issue is the removal of visa requirements by Canada, for Romania and Bulgaria.
If these are not lifted, the EU may move to impose visa requirements on Canadians wanting to visit any of the 28-member countries of the European Union. This would pose a major change for the many Canadians planning a vacations, or a trip back to a native country for a visit.
“nearly a perfect strategic partnership with Canada”
Marie-Anne Coninsx, the EU ambassador to Canada, says the demand that Canada remove the visa requirements is in keeping with EU policy. “It’s nothing new, we have a European Union law, legislation, which aims at achieving visa-free travel for all our citizens of member states, to every third country where our people can travel.” she says. “Having only a visa request for two of our member-states, for the people of our member-states, is a discrimination which for us is inacceptable.”
ListenConinsx assures that the discussions continue in advance of the deadline of July 12th, 2016. And there will be no effect on travel for Canadians heading to Europe this spring and summer. She says, however, “for us it’s very clear that a solution must be found.”
In an e-mail to CBC News, Felix Corriveau, an Immigration department spokesperson, wrote, “Canada’s visa policy is not based on reciprocity. Rather, Canada must be satisfied that countries meet its cireteria for a visa exemption.
According to Coninsx, Canada has a system of 40 criteria which a country has to comply with before being able to lift the visa, “It seems that for the two countries concerned, that the visa-refusal rate for these two countries is above the required threshold, so that seems to be an issue.” she says.
Sorin Moisa, a Romanian member of the European Parliament, told CBC News that he was disappointed following a recent meeting on the issues with Canadian officials. He described their behavior as unacceptable, undignified and patronizing. Rather than working on solutions, Canada was “super-evasive, aggresive and arrogant.”
Felix Corriveau says Canadian official are, “heavily engaged in a very positive, ongoing dialogue,” committed to extending visa-free travel as soon as possible.
CETA factor
But these time-consuming discussions could run into another area of debate in the ratification process for the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA)
Marie-Anne Coninsx says there is no direct link between the two issues, but acknowledges “there might be implicitly, there might be some consequences.”
She explains that the final stage in the EU will be the agreement that the European Parliament must give to the CETA. It will be hard to imagine Romania or Bulgaria agreeing with the visa issue unresolved. And Coninsx says there could be further solidarity within the parliament that would have other member states withholding agreement.
In regards to the CETA she says, “we have solved all the outstanding and important issues” and the visa negotiation is at this point, “an unecessary iritant”.
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