Single Permit-The puzzle is completed
On 19 October, the Council of Ministers approved a draft royal decree on the issuance of single permits.
The draft amends certain provisions of the Royal Decree of 8 October 1981 and introduces new provisions, in the framework of the transposition of Directive 2011/98/EU.
The draft also amends several annexes of the said royal decree and introduces new ones.
It represents the last major piece of legislation to fully implement the Single Permit Directive.
The directive should have been transposed at latest by 25 December 2013. On 13 July 2017, the EU Commission has referred Belgium to the Court of Justice, for failing to fully implement the said directive (second referral-first referral was put on hold in April 2016).
intra-Corporate Transfer and Researchers Directives-a step forward
On 19 October, the Council of Ministers agreed on the submission to the Cooperation Committee* of a draft cooperation agreement between the Federal State, the three regions and the German-speaking Community, implementing the Cooperation Agreement on the coordination of policies for granting of authorisations of work and residence permits to third-country nationals.
The draft cooperation agreement:
- lays down the specific arrangements for the implementation of the Cooperation Agreement of 2 February 2018
- partially transposes a series of European directives.
The following matters are concerned:
- terms and conditions on the application for an authorisation of stay
- period of validity of such an authorization
- procedures to be followed in case of long-term mobility for intra-corporate transferees and researchers
- exchange of information between the competent governments
- issuing of visas and residence documents
It must be noted that the ICT Directive should have been transposed at latest by 29 November 2016 (reasoned opinion addressed by the Commission on 4 October 2017), and the Researchers Directive (on the conditions of entry and residence of third-country nationals for the purposes of research, studies, training, voluntary service, pupil exchange schemes or educational projects and au pairing), at latest by 23 May 2018 (formal notice addressed by the Commission on 19 July 2018).
Seasonal Workers Directive
On 19 July 2018, the EU Commission has referred Belgium to the European Court of Justice for failing to fully implement the Seasonal Workers Directive (Directive 2014/36/EU). The directive should have been transposed at latest by 30 September 2016.
* The Cooperation Committee is composed of ministers from the federal government and the governments of the Communities and Regions and debates issues that require collaboration between the different levels of legislative power.
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