Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to report parliamentary committee draft

DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

Changedon the proposaldraft for a Council directive amending Directive (EU) 2015/637 on the coordination and cooperation measures to facilitate consular protection for unrepresented citizens of the Union in third countries and Directive (EU) 2019/997 establishing an EU Emergency Travel Document

Changed(COM(2023)0930 – C90015/2024C100027/2026 – 2023/0441(CNS))

(Special legislative procedure – consultation)

The European Parliament,

Changed– having regard to the Commission proposal to the Council (COM(2023)0930),draft (05760/2026),

Changed– having regard to Article 23 paragraph 223(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Council consulted Parliament (C90015/2024),(C100027/2026),

Changed– having regard to Rule 8284 of its Rules of Procedure,

Changed– having regard to the opinionsopinion of the Committee on Foreign Affairsand the Committee on Legal Affairs,

Changed– having regard to the report of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (A90000/2024),(A100000/2026),

▸5 unchanged paragraphs

1. Approves the Commission proposal as amended;

2. Calls on the Commission to alter its proposal accordingly, in accordance with Article 293(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union;

3. Calls on the Council to notify Parliament if it intends to depart from the text approved by Parliament;

4. Asks the Council to consult Parliament again if it intends to substantially amend the Commission proposal;

5. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

Change 1

RemovedRecital 4: (4) To improve legal certainty for consular authorities and citizens, it is appropriate to lay down more detailed criteria that aid in the assessment whether a Union citizen is to be considered as unrepresented and thus eligible to receive consular protection from the Member State whose consular authorities have been approached. Those criteria should be sufficiently flexible and applied in light of local circumstances, such as ease of travel or security situation in the third country concerned. In this context, accessibility proximity and safety should remain important considerations.

AddedDirective (EU) 2015/637

RemovedRecital 5: (5) As first criterion, consular authorities should take into account the difficulty for citizens to safely reach or be reached by the embassy or consulate of their Member State of nationality within 48 hours.For example, the need for an EU Emergency Travel Document as a result of the loss of travel documents should result in the citizen being considered as unrepresented if reaching the embassy or consulate of his or her Member State of nationality would require overnight or air travel, as he or she cannot be expected to travel under such circumstances.

AddedWhere a crisis situation exists, the process leading to the recognition of an EU citizen as unrepresented should be kept as simple as possible : this general criteria will allow Member States and EU delegations to focus on providing protection to EU citizens by making the identification process to establish a list quasi-automatic.

RemovedRecital 30 a (new): (30a) Member States should ensure that citizens have easy access to up-to date information regarding consular protection. In this regard, EU citizens should receive prompt notifications regarding their rights and procedures for exercising them while in third countries, particularly during crisis situations.

AddedDirective (EU) 2015/637

RemovedRecital 31: (31) Member States should take additional measures to further contribute to raising Union citizen’s awareness of their right to consular protection, also taking into account the specific needs of persons with disabilities. Given the limited costs it entails for the Member States, one possible way to do so would be to reproduce the wording of Article 23 TFEU in passports issued by Member States as a way to enhance citizens’ awareness of the right to protection by diplomatic and consular authorities, as already recommended by Commission Recommendation C(2007) 5841 . Member States should also feature information on the right to consular protection enjoyed by unrepresented citizens in travel advice and campaigns relating to consular assistance. They could also cooperate with passenger transport service providers and transport hubs offering travel to third countries, for example by inviting them to add relevant information on the right to consular protection to the information materials made available to customers.

AddedDirective (EU) 2015/637

RemovedRecital 41: (41) When processing such special categories of personal data, the competent authorities of the Member States and Union institutions and bodies should ensure suitable and specific measures to safeguard data subjects’ interests and rights. This should include, where possible, encrypting such personal data and specific attribution of access rights for personnel who have access to the specified types of special categories of personal data.

AddedDirective (EU) 2015/637

RemovedArticle 11 – paragraph 2: 2. Union delegations shall support Member States in the provision of consular protection to unrepresented citizens in accordance with Article 5(10) of Decision 2010/427/EU. Such support may include carrying out, upon request by and on behalf of Member States, specific consular assistance tasks. The assisting Member State and the Member State of nationality shall provide without delay the Union delegation with all the relevant information in the case concerned..

AddedDirective (EU) 2015/637

RemovedArticle 13 – paragraph 3 a (new): 3a. Member States and Union delegations shall collaborate in the deployment of Early Warning Systems to enable the timely detection of potential crises or hazards, such as natural disasters, political unrest, or health emergencies, in the third country concerned. These systems shall utilize data analytics, risk assessments, and intelligence sharing to provide early indicators of emerging threats, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of crisis preparedness and response efforts.

AddedDirective (EU) 2015/637

RemovedArticle 13 – paragraph 4: 4. Member States shall, in accordance with national law, take proactive measures in order to ensure that their citizens register with or inform competent national authorities, by appropriate means and tools, of their travels to or residence in third countries, in particular when the thirds countries in question are not considered fully safe.

AddedDirective (EU) 2015/637

RemovedArticle 13 – paragraph 5: 5. Member States shall exchange information on changes to their travel advice to citizens at an early stage, in particular in the context of crisis situations, and shall seek to ensure consistency in the level of travel advice given.’ Member States should always inform each-other every time they become aware of increased security risks.

AddedDirective (EU) 2015/637

RemovedArticle 13b – paragraph 1: 1. Once every six months, Member States shall provide the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy with the following information:

AddedDirective (EU) 2015/637

RemovedArticle 13c – paragraph 1 – point d(new): (d) implementing digital technologies and automated notification systems, such as SMS via telephone networks, to provide EU citizens with essential contact details for consular protection upon entering a third country, as well as alert messages during crisis situations.

AddedDirective (EU) 2015/637

RemovedArticle 16a – paragraph 1 – point g(new): (g) ensure compliance with the provisions of Article 13(4) regarding the registration and notification of citizens' travels to or residence in third countries.

AddedDirective (EU) 2015/637

RemovedArticle 16a – paragraph 6: 6. When processing the personal data referred to in paragraph 5, the competent authorities of the Member States and Union institutions and bodies shall ensure suitable and specific measures to safeguard data subjects’ interests and rights. They shall also introduce internal policies and undertake necessary technical and organisational measures to prevent unauthorised access and transmission of such personal data.

AddedDirective (EU) 2015/637

RemovedArticle 16b – paragraph 10: ‘3. No sooner than [five years after the transposition deadline of the amending Directive], the Commission shall carry out an evaluation of this Directive and present a report on the main findings to the European Parliament and the Council.

AddedDirective (EU) 2015/637

AddedDirective (EU) 2015/637

AddedDirective (EU) 2015/637

AddedDirective (EU) 2015/637

AddedDirective (EU) 2015/637