EU Emergency Travel Document

The Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs adopted, in the framework of a special legislative procedure (consultation of the Parliament), the report by Kinga GÁL (EPP, HU) on the proposal for a Council directive establishing an EU Emergency Travel Document and repealing Decision 96/409/CFSP.

The proposal for a Directive repealing Decision 96/409 / CFSP aims to establish a new, more secure, model for an EU Emergency Travel Document (EU ETD)) for  unrepresented EU citizens outside the EU whose passport has been stolen, lost, destroyed or is temporarily unavailable, in order to guarantee that they can return home safely.

The committee recommended that the European Parliament approve the Commission proposal subject to the following amendments:

Procedure

The proposal provides that where a Member State receives an application for an EU ETD, it shall, within 24 hours, consult the Member State of nationality for the purpose of verifying the nationality of the applicant. 2. The assisting Member State shall provide the Member State of nationality with all relevant information, including the data on the applicant to be included on the EU ETD sticker in accordance with Annex II and a facial image of the applicant.

Members considered that within 24 hours after receipt of the information (rather than 36 hours), the Member State of nationality shall respond to the consultation. In duly justified exceptional cases, Member States may take shorter or longer than these time-limits.

Evaluation

No sooner than three years after the date of transposition of this Directive, the Commission shall present a report on the main findings to the European Parliament and the Council, including on the appropriateness of the level of security of personal data, and the impact on fundamental rights.