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President Tajani on the visit of Chancellor Merkel: we need to change Europe together

13-11-2018 08:46 AM CET

European Parliament President, Antonio Tajani, received the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, today in Strasbourg in the framework of his initiative to invite EU Heads of State and Government to debate the future of Europe in plenary with MEPs. 

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Council of the European Union     14/11/2018  Ship inspections: preparing for Brexit Member states' ambassadors today gave the presidency a mandate to negotiate with the European Parliament an amendment to rules on the assessment of ship inspection organisations, with the aim of ensuring legal certainty and securing business continuity when the United Kingdom leaves the EU. Under the current rules, ship inspection organisations recognised at EU level must be assessed at least every two years by the Commission. In addition, each organisation has a 'sponsor' member state, meaning the country which initially submitted the request for recognition of the organisation and which participates in the assessment. The UK is the initial sponsor of two organisations recognised by the EU. Following Brexit, it will no longer be in a position to participate in the assessments for those two organisations. The draft amendment to the rules would replace the requirement that only the sponsor country participate in the assessment, with a provision allowing for the participation of any EU country which has authorised one of the recognised organisations. This would allow organisations for which the UK has acted as sponsor to continue to carry out inspections, thereby ensuring the uninterrupted safety of European ships. Next steps The presidency will start negotiations with the European Parliament with the aim of reaching an agreement on the proposed regulation as soon as the Parliament has finalised its position.

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Council of the European Union     14/11/2018 Better security for ID documents: Council agrees its position The EU is introducing tighter security for ID cards in order to reduce identity fraud. Today's meeting of EU ambassadors agreed the Council's position on a proposal for a regulation which will strengthen the security of identity cards of EU citizens and of residence documents issued to EU citizens and their non-EU family members. The proposed new rules will improve the security of these documents by introducing minimum standards both for the information contained in them and for security features common to all member states that issue them. "Ensuring the security of identity documents is a vital tool in the fight against terrorism and organised crime. More secure documents make it harder to commit document fraud and identity theft." Herbert Kickl, Minister of the Interior of Austria On the basis of this mandate, the Council Presidency will start negotiations with the European Parliament once the latter has adopted its position. Security standards for ID cards Under the proposed new rules, identity cards will have to be produced in a uniform, credit card format (ID-1), include a machine-readable zone, and follow the minimum security standards set out by ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation). They will also need to include a photo and two fingerprints of the cardholder, stored in a digital format, on a contactless chip. Identity cards will have a maximum period of validity of 10 years. Member states may issue ID cards with a longer validity for persons aged 70 and above. If issued, ID cards for children under 12 will have a maximum period of validity of 5 years. Phase out of old ID cards The negotiating mandate foresees that the new rules will enter into force 2 years after adoption, meaning that by this date all new documents issued must fulfil the new criteria. In general, existing identity cards which do not meet the requirements will stop being valid 10 years after the date of application of the new rules or at their expiry, whichever is earlier. ID cards issued to citizens aged 70 or more will remain valid until their expiry, provided they meet the security standards and have a machine-readable zone. The least secure cards which do not meet the minimum security standards or do not have a machine-readable zone will expire within five years. Residence documents The proposed rules also specify the minimum information to be contained in residence documents issued to EU citizens, and harmonise the format and other specifications of residence cards issued to non-EU members of families of EU citizens. Background In recent years, common EU security standards have been introduced for identity and travel documents including passports, visas and residence permits for third country nationals. However, under existing rules, the security levels of national ID cards and resident documents for EU citizens and their family members still vary significantly, increasing the risk of document fraud. The new rules are set out in a draft regulation which was proposed by the Commission on 17 April 2018. The proposed rules do not require member states to introduce identity cards or residence documents if they are not foreseen under national law. Council of the European Union     14/11/2018 Improved coordination between immigration liaison officers: Council agrees its position The EU is strengthening the cooperation and coordination between liaison officers deployed to third countries by member states or the EU to deal with immigration-related issues. EU ambassadors today agreed the Council's negotiating position on a proposal to improve the functioning of the existing European network of immigration liaison officers. The negotiating position includes the following provisions: introducing a steering board at EU level to strengthen the management of the network and the coordination of liaison officers, while maintaining the competence of the deploying authorities so as to ensure effectiveness and clear lines of communication strengthening the role of liaison officers in combatting migrant smuggling and collecting information to support border management at the EU's external borders making available funds in support of activities of immigration liaison officers that will be allocated in agreement with the steering board "Cooperation with third countries is an essential aspect of the EU's response to migration. To ensure that this cooperation produces results and that we work together as effectively as possible, close coordination, particularly between our liaison officers on the ground, is essential." Herbert Kickl, Minister of the Interior of Austria On the basis of this mandate, the Council Presidency will start negotiations with the European Parliament once the latter has adopted its position. Background Immigration liaison officers are deployed to third countries by  member states and the EU in order to establish and maintain contacts with the authorities of the host country on migration issues (prevention and combatting of illegal migration, facilitating return, managing legal migration). In 2004, the EU adopted a regulation creating a European network of immigration liaison officers to coordinate the efforts of officers within a third-country or region. However, with almost 500 immigration liaison officers currently deployed by member states to more than 100 countries, gaps in coordination persist. Moreover, as part of the comprehensive EU response to migration the role of liaison officers in certain fields could be expanded. To respond to this, the European Commission presented a proposal for a regulation to strengthen the European network of immigration liaison officers on 17 May 2018.