ZARZALEJOS MEETS WITH ECUATORIANS GROUPS TO DISCUSS STATUS OF VISA WAIVER INITIATIVE

On February 23, Javier Zarzalejos held a meeting organized by the office of the Spokesperson of the Spanish delegation of the EPP, Dolors Montserrat, with various representatives of civil society groups of Ecuatorians living in Catalonia. The meeting took place at the headquarters of the European Parliament in Barcelona and was also attended by Daniel Sirera, candidate for mayor of Barcelona in the upcoming May elections.

The Ecuatorian associations that attended the meeting claimed the importance of this measure to strengthen the links between the EU and Ecuador, and showed interest in the current state of the issue at the level of the institutions.

It should be recalled that on December 1, 2022, the LIBE Committee approved by a large majority the inclusion of the visa waiver for Ecuador in the report on the proposed Regulation on visa waiver for Qatar and Kuwait. However, the events surrounding the Qatargate investigations have led to the suspension of the entire legislative dossier, negatively affecting Ecuador’s particular situation.

During the meeting, Javier Zarzalejos reaffirmed his support in favor of visa exemption for Ecuador. He recalled that “Ecuador is one of the few countries in Latin America that does not enjoy the Schengen visa exemption” and highlighted, among other things, that “Ecuador is a trading partner, together with Colombia and Peru, in the Multiparty Treaty, it is a country that has successfully introduced the biometric passport and has implemented specific legislation to guarantee return policies”.

“The PP is going to continue working at the institutional level to achieve this goal. The political and legislative decision adopted by the LIBE committee on December 1 regarding Ecuador cannot be ignored. It is necessary to seek new formulas to promote this measure,” he concluded.