Thursday

28th Mar 2024

Seals and visas threaten EU-Canada rift

  • A save the seals campaign in Strasbourg, the seat of the EU parliament, in May (Photo: EUobserver)

Canada's decision to impose visas on Czech citizens and the EU's decision to ban seal products are emerging as major irritants in bilateral relations.

Both issues came up at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday (27 July), the first high level event under the Swedish EU presidency.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

The Czech Republic used the opportunity to complain against Ottawa's unilateral re-imposition of visa requirements due to a surge in Czech asylum applications. The move, in mid-July, comes after two years of visa-free travel.

"For us, this is not an issue between the Czech Republic and Canada but between the EU and Canada," Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt commented after the EU meeting.

Mr Bildt called the Canadian decision "sad" and said it has caused "deep concern" in the bloc.

But he ruled out any EU reaction before the European Commission in September puts forward a legal analysis of the situation.

The commission will assess Prague's call on fellow member states to show "reciprocity" - or in other words, to re-introduce visas against Canada. EU states will then have a further three months to consider their reaction.

"As the presidency of the EU, we are in favour of this reciprocity," Sweden's migration minister Tobias Billstroem told AFP, despite the Canadian opinion that such a counter-reaction is out of the question.

Germany, France and the UK could face harsh consequences in terms of trade if they retaliate on the Czech Republic's side.

Canada says 1,720 mostly Roma-origin Czech citizens applied for asylum in the first six months of 2009 compared to half that figure in the whole of 2008. The Czech Roma have complained of discrimination in their home country.

"We need to streamline the system to provide faster protection for real victims of persecution, while showing bogus claimants the door much more quickly," Canadian immigration minister Jason Kenney said on Monday.

"Until we're able to come up with reforms along those lines, unfortunately, the visa policy becomes our only recourse."

Seal angst

In another matter set to annoy in Canada, EU ministers on Monday rubber stamped a ban on EU seal product imports "in response to concerns about the animal welfare aspects of seal hunting practices."

Canada - which culls about 300,000 seals off its east coast each year – has said the EU's decision is unscientific and plans to challenge the move at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in Geneva.

"We are very disappointed with this ruling. We believe strongly this violates the World Trade Organisation guidelines," Canada's international trade minister Stockwell Day said, according to the BBC. "It is in our view inappropriate that a trade decision is taken which is not based on science."

The ban is due to affect the 2010 hunting season and halt annual trade worth a symbolic €4.2 million, according to media reports.

Czechs want EU response after Canada imposes visas

The Czech government has called for EU solidarity after Canada decided to stop its visa-free regime with Prague due to an increasing number of Czech Roma applicants for asylum in Canada.

EU Parliament set to sue EU Commission over Hungary funds

The European Parliament will likely take the European Commission to court for unblocking more than €10bn in funds for Hungary last December. A final nod of approval is still needed by European Parliament president, Roberta Metsola.

EU Commission clears Poland's access to up to €137bn EU funds

The European Commission has legally paved the way for Poland to access up to €137bn EU funds, following Donald Tusk's government's efforts to strengthen the independence of their judiciary and restore the rule of law in the country.

Opinion

Potential legal avenues to prosecute Navalny's killers

The UN could launch an independent international investigation into Navalny's killing, akin to investigation I conducted on Jamal Khashoggi's assassination, or on Navalny's Novichok poisoning, in my role as special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, writes the secretary-general of Amnesty International.

Opinion

I'll be honest — Moldova's judicial system isn't fit for EU

To state a plain truth: at present, Moldova does not have a justice system worthy of a EU member state; it is riven with corruption and lax and inconsistent standards, despite previous attempts at reform, writes Moldova's former justice minister.

Latest News

  1. German bank freezes account of Jewish peace group
  2. EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania
  3. 'Swiftly dial back' interest rates, ECB told
  4. Moscow's terror attack, security and Gaza
  5. Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult
  6. EU unveils plan to create a European cross-border degree
  7. How migrants risk becoming drug addicts along Balkan route
  8. 2024: A Space Odyssey — why the galaxy needs regulating

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us