The Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS Parliament, has made case for a visa free regime between the ECOWAS member states and the European Union.
The Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament, Senator Ike Ekweremadu made the call at a meeting with the President of the European Parliament, Hon. Martin Schulz, during a one-day working visit to the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium on Wednesday.
Senator Ekweremadu who also doubles as the Deputy President of the Nigerian Senate, said the new visa regime had become imperative given increasing diplomatic and economic cooperation between both economic blocks.
The ECOWAS Speaker said: “A visa free regime between both economic blocks have become imperative in order to facilitate greater socio-economic and political cooperation between the EU and ECOWAS member states and we think the time has come to give it a try.
“A situation where important ECOWAS government officials and business persons with genuine reasons to visit the EU countries for legitimate businesses are denied visas is no longer acceptable and I do hope the European Parliament would take up this matter accordingly.”
Allaying the observed fears by EU member states that such a visa regime would result in influx of people of ECOWAS into Europe, Senator Ekweremadu suggested an incremental approach starting with certain categories of international passports holders and business categories.
The Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament also assured the EU Parliament that that ECOWAS was on top of the Mali crisis, but called for more material and financial support to ensure that terrorist insurgents were stamped out from not only Mali, but the West African sub-region.
“Beyond rooting out the terrorists from Mali is also the critical issue of ensuring that democracy and lasting peace return to Mali, and it is our hope that the EU will support ECOWAS and other international friends to the end”, he added.
In his response, the Speaker of the EU Parliament, Martin Schulz assured the ECOWAS delegation of the solidarity and support of the European Parliament towards facilitating greater relations with the ECOWAS sub-region.
Martinez further assured of the commitment of the EU member states to early victory for the people of Mali and the entire West Africa in the fight against terrorism, noting that the EU Parliament would bring its influence to bear in ensuring that promises made by EU member states towards the Mali cause translated to action in the forms of financial, human, and material support.
He said that the EU parliament would build greater ties with the ECOWAS Parliament, supporting it especially in the area of capacity building.