The European Commission on Wednesday unveiled an action plan for the period 2007-2009 to boost consular protection for citizens living outside the European Union (EU).
Providing consular protection is the responsibility of the EU member states. With its action plan, the European Commission aims to assist the member states and proposes concrete measures for the period 2007-2009.
The action plan aims to ensure that all EU citizens are informed of their rights to consular protection.
Under the EU Treaty, an EU citizen traveling to or living in a third country where his or her member state is not represented is entitled to protection by the diplomatic and consular authorities of any member state on the same conditions as the nationals of that state.
But only a quarter of the concerned citizens are aware that they can turn to representations of other member states for help, according to a 2006 survey.
The commission, the executive body of the EU, is recommending that the member states reproduce the relevant article of the EU Treaty in passports so that citizens are informed of their rights.
The commission will also set up a website on consular protection to publish practical information, such as the contact details of member states' representations in third countries.
The action plan will also clarify and reinforce the scope of protection and enhance cooperation and burden-sharing between member states.
As a pilot project, the commission intends to propose the setting up of a "common office" in a commission delegation in a third country in which few member states are represented.
"The right to consular protection is a concrete expression of union citizenship. This action plan marks the beginning of a long-term strategy to better inform citizens of their rights and ensure that EU citizens are protected worldwide," said European Commission Vice President Franco Frattini.
EU commissioner for external relations, Benita Ferrero-Waldner also stressed the need to step up cooperation at EU level in this regard.
The need for consular protection concerns potentially thousands of EU citizens each year. EU citizens make some 80 million trips per year outside Europe according to Eurostat.
Between 30 and 50 million EU citizens live outside Europe. It is estimated that around 9 percent of the EU citizens traveling outside the EU go to countries where their member state does not have a consular or diplomatic representation. This is 7 million EU citizens per year.
All 27 member states are represented in only three countries outside the EU: China, Russian and the United States. There are 18countries in which no EU member state is represented and 17 countries in which only one member state is represented.
Source: Xinhua
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