On the Commission delegated regulation of 14 March 2024 amending Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 as regards the amount of the visa fees

B90216/2024

European Parliament resolution on the Commission delegated regulation of 14 March 2024 amending Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 as regards the amount of the visa fees

(C(2024)01759) - 2024/2686(DEA))

– having regard to the Commission delegated regulation (C(2024)01759),

– having regard to Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

– having regard to Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 establishing a Community Code on Visas, and in particular Article 16(9) and Article 51a(6) thereof,

– having regard to Rule 111(3) of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the motion for a resolution of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs,

A. whereas Regulation (EU) 2023/2667 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the digitalisation of the visa procedure was adopted on 22 November 2023;

B. whereas during the interinstitutional negotiations the co-legislators agreed not to increase the visa fees due to the estimated cost savings of a fully digitalised visa procedure; whereas during the interinstitutional negotiations the co-legislators also agreed to allow for the digitalisation of visas to enter into application and take effect;

C. whereas the digitalisation of the visa procedure establishes a single online platform allowing travellers to submit a visa application and pay the application fee online; whereas visas will be issued in a digital format;

D. whereas the digitalisation of the visa procedure will reduce the risk of fraud and forgery, will facilitate the verification process at the border and throughout the visa application procedure, will reduce the administrative burden of visa processing and will reduce costs for the visa applicant and for the Member States;

E. whereas the Commission in its impact assessment accompanying the proposal for digitalisation of the visa procedure indicates that the digitalisation option would have a significant cost saving impact in the Member States;

F. whereas the Commission considers that the introduction of digital visas would allow savings on the costs attached to the current visa stickers, which would no longer be required and have a cost estimated to be up to EUR 76.6 million over the period 2025-2029;

G. whereas, in addition, the implementation of an EU visa application platform is expected to reduce the administrative burden on consulates both in terms of time spent processing paper-based applications and time spent printing and affixing the visa sticker, with total estimated savings of up to EUR 521.6 million for all Member States in the period 2025-2029;

H. whereas implementing and centrally hosting and managing the new visa application platform is estimated to save up to EUR 3.3 million on average per Member State;

I. whereas the new visa application platform will also provide up-to-date information at central level for the applicants, including a guidance tool that enables third-country nationals to check if a visa is needed and under which conditions; whereas further savings are estimated for Member States of up to 576 FTEs in replying to queries from visa applicants in the period 2025-2029; whereas additional time savings are estimated as biometric data would no longer be collected in person at the consulate or at visa application centres;

J. whereas with Regulation (EU) 2023/2667 a new visa fee of EUR 20 was introduced, namely for the confirmation of a valid visa in a new travel document; whereas a visa holder whose travel document has been lost or stolen, has expired or has been invalidated and whose visa is still valid can apply for confirmation of the visa in a new travel document, if they wish, instead of applying for a whole new visa; whereas this new procedure is estimated to bring further cost savings for third-country nationals as well as reducing administrative costs for the Member States;

K. whereas an increase in the fees would have a disproportionate impact on marginalised groups;

L. whereas, in view of the above, it is believed that the increase of visa fees before the digitalisation of the visa procedure takes full effect is not justified and is ill-timed;

M. whereas the Commission delegated regulation of 14 March 2024 amending Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 as regards the amount of the visa fees constitutes a breach of the agreement between the co-legislators reached during the interinstitutional negotiations and thus undermines the principle of sincere cooperation between the institutions;

1. Objects to the Commission delegated regulation;

2. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission and to notify it that the delegated regulation cannot enter into force;

3. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and to the governments and parliaments of the Member States.