Union citizenship: free movement and residence for citizens and their families within the Member States' territory

The European Parliament adopted a resolution by 269 votes to 225 with 46 abstentions, making several amendments to the Commission's proposal. (Please refer to the document dated 21/01/03.) The rapporteur is Giacomo SANTINI (EPP-ED, Italy). Parliament also made the following amendments: - on the question of expulsion on the grounds of public order or public security, the scope for such measures must be limited, and take into account the length of stay, the impact on the Union citizen and his family members, the links with the country of origin and the seriousness of the threat to public policy and public security; - where a short-stay visa is required by a family member who is not a national of a Member State, such visas must be issued no later than one week of the submission of the application; - for stays of longer than two years (rather than six months) the host Member State may require Union citizens to register with the authorities if a similar requirement applies to its own nationals; - family members must not be refused a residence card solely on the grounds that their visas have expired prior to the application for a residence card; - the validity of the residence card will not be affected by absences for such matters as study or training, provided that they do not exceed one year; - Member States must notify the Commission of all decisions to expel Union citizens or members of their family; - medical examinations may be required not later than six months after the date of arrival; - disease occurring six months after arrival must not be grounds for expulsion; - not more than two years after the date of final decision ordering expulsion, persons expelled may submit a new application for leave to enter; - a report on the application of the directive must be submitted by 1 July 2007.�