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(the non Sc
On the face of
Qualified Majority Voting from 1 January 1996
countries could not block a vote by SC bloc). it, Hong Kong BDTCS and BN (0) s will then need visas for all
EC member states including the UK.
9.
We are still considering how this might be avoided. It is a complex field. Our Legal Counsellor is examining the possibility of arguing before 1 July 1997 that Hong Kong is not covered by the terms of Maastricht Article 100c which
allows for a common visa list. The relevant Article lays
down that the Council of Ministers, acting on a proposal from
the Commission and after consulting the European Parliament,
"shall determine the third countries whose nationals must be
in possession of a visa when crossing the external borders of
the member states." There may well be room for an argument
that before 1 July 1997 Hong Kong is not a third country for the purposes of Article 100C. Thereafter the path becomes
more thorny.
Neborah Bannes Dones.
Deborah Barnes Jones
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