A 38
B 47
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Background
now
3. We submitted on 21 July on the Spanish decision that BDTCS and BN (0)s would need visas for entry to Spain from 1 October and the damage that a public announcement could do
- at the start of the phased registration programme for BN (0)S. Our Embassy in Madrid (Madrid telno 349) secured Spanish agreement to postpone a public announcement. has bought us a little time, but Spanish confirmation that Hong Kong is on the Schengen CVL means that Benelux, Greece and Italy (who do not require visas for BDTCs and BN (O)s at present) may not be far behind Spain.
This
4. It is important for Hong Kong's confidence in the UK's administration of the Territory that we obtain the best deal we can for British passport holders wishing to travel to Europe. We need to press for the most favourable possible treatment for these travellers, while recognising that what we can do may in practice be limited. It is also important that our action be sufficiently high profile that we be seen by the Hong Kong administration to be fighting Hong Kong's corner on this (and in the future, should we be faced with the inclusion of Hong Kong on a Maastricht CVL).
5.
HKD, ECD (I), MVD and our Departmental Legal Counsellor have considered what course we might take. Our aim, if this can be achieved, must be to get Hong Kong removed altogether from the Schengen CVL on the grounds that while we understand the case for alignment of policy within Schengen, Hong Kong is a special case, involving British passport-holders, on which Schengen might choose to align behind the liberal majority rather than the restrictive minority.
6. We would argue along "international support" lines (that the international community has a clear interest in
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