Civil Society calls on European Parliament to keep its promises and stand up for better mobility rules for young people

Agreement on the Revision of the Visa Directive appears close between the Commission, Parliament and Council. In this key moment in the trilogue discussions, the European Youth Forum and its member organisations are calling on the European Parliament to make four key changes so that the Directive ensures an EU that is accessible for young people from all over the world who wish to contribute through studying, volunteering or training here.

As representatives of civil society, we are happy to see that agreement is near and we commend the work led by the Luxembourg Presidency to achieve a convergence of positions. The European Parliament’s position on the Directive in the Report of February 2014 laid out key changes that eliminate some of the barriers that hinder young people from easily coming into the EU. We are now calling on the Parliament to stand up for these changes and to stay strong in its position in the key final stages of negotiations.

Specifically, we ask MEPs to stand up for the following:

• Article 29: Deadlines for decision and for decision on appeal should be no longer than 60 days
• Article 29a: There should be fast-track admission procedures allowing visas to be issued faster to accredited hosting organisations for all categories of applicants
• Article 31: Member States should consider waiving fees., Visa fees must be proportionate to the purpose of the stay and should not constitute an obstacle to the objectives of the Directive. In the case of intra-EU mobility where Visa-holders must notify embassies or consulates of a third country in case of visit, fees must not in any case be charged for the handling of such notifications.
• Article 32: Applicants should be able to apply in an embassy or consulate of another Member State to facilitate the application process and reduce overall costs for the applicant.

We believe that these final changes would help accommodate the demands and the interests of young mobile learners and add value to existing rules. We call on MEPs, as the voice of European citizens, to listen to the demands of civil society and to keep their promises to youth. We count on the European Parliament to ensure the final legislation is not a wasted opportunity that lets Europe and young people across the world down.