Canada’s reinstating of visa requirements for Czech nationals calls for a unique European Union passport
Introduction of a unique passport and visa systems for all European Union nationals is a must on the path toward a unified European Union.
The need to unify all individual Member State’s passport and visa systems into a pan-European Union one is clearly shown by the current querelle between Canada and the Czech Republic.
Ottawa has recently – Tuesday – unilaterally reinstated visa requirements for holders of Czech Republic passports. Originally lifted two years ago, shortly after Prague joined the European Union, its absence has spurred a dramatic rise in the number of Czech citizens asking for asylum into Canada. This urged the Canadian government to go reinstate the former visa requirements.
On its side, Prague has protested against Canada’s decision and turned to the European Union for help.
The incident should, indeed, push the EU strongly on the way to a further integration. it should be time, by now, all passport and visa requirements were agreed with non-Eu countries not by the individual Member States, rather by the European Union as a whole. After all, we are European Citizens, first, and only afterwards nationals of an individual Member State.
The move toward a unified visa and passport requirements systems should be decided by the new European Parliament as soon as possible, as a sign of the new era: Europe is facing the world not as a bunch of smaller Countries, but as the political and economical giant it deserves to be.
And as we are in a time of economical distress, all representations abroad should be unite under a common one. It makes no sense having embassies for all Member States in all countries (only a few cases one Member State’s embassy serves as focal point for all EU citizens). One Embassy for the whole European Union, with services for all its citizens regardless of nationality would be enough, and would allow for a large saving overall.
Reporting The World Over 