TNAG-2951-FCO40-4228-Hong-Kong-visa-free-travel-for-British-Nationals-(Overseas)--1993 — Page 41

2-AUG-1993

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24 August 1993

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1. Paragraph 9 of FCO telno 196 to Athens asked UKRep to find out about the Commission's preparations for an EC wide

3 common visa list ("CVL") under Article 100c (as amended by Maastricht). As you know, I spoke today to Adrian Fortescue (Commission Secretariat-General), and I attach, for ease of reference, a copy of the telegram which reports his comments on these matters, and on the question of Hong Kong's inclusion in the Schengen CVL. As we discussed, I also agreed to report on a more restricted basis other points which arose in my conversation with Fortescue.

2.

Fortescue said that Commission action in this area is proceeding on two fronts:

the

(a) the Secretariat General (Fortescue's team) were adjusting the text of

External Frontiers Convention, in line with the Ministerial mandate to make any limited and technical changes which were necessary in the light of the Maastricht Treaty. (Fortescue said that the Commission felt it "owed it to itself" to take on this task (no doubt to demonstrate that it was able and willing to take a prominent role in Third Pillar matters). That exercise was going well: Fortescue thought a

thought a text would be available fairly soon. The Secretariat General's approach had been to keep changes to the current EFC text to a minimum (but see paragraph 4 below).

(b) meanwhile DG XV ("Mogg's outfit" as Fortescue described them) were working on the text of a draft directive under new Article 100c. Fortescue hinted strongly that DG XV were taking a much more interventionist and Communautaire approach than he favoured: all the directive needed to do was establish a mechanism. To try to go beyond that would be exceed the mandate which had been given, and would be counter-productive. He said that it would not be easy

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