Spain to help RP get out of watchlist for Schengen visas

Spain promised to help the Philippines get out of the list of 24 countries whose nationals will be required to undergo special procedures in securing a Schengen visa, Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople said yesterday.

A Schengen visa, which facilitates easy cross-border travel to Europe’s so-called Schengen zone comprising the countries of Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Greece, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden, is difficult enough to obtain under current stringent procedures.

In the wake of the recent terror attacks, Germany has proposed the enforcement of a special procedure in the issuance of the visa for nationals of countries with extremist groups in their territories.

"The Spanish government is very sympathetic to the Philippines and they promised to help us get out of the list," Ople said, adding that they are still trying to find out which countries are really included in the list.

Spain, a long-time ally of the Philippines in view of our 300-year shared colonial history, has also given Philippine business a boost.

Despite perceived terror threats, the Spanish government remains bullish with business opportunities in the country.

"I’m glad to see one European country which is an emerging economic powerhouse that is Spain expressing a continuing interest in investing and trading with the Philippines in spite of the economic slowdown in many parts of the world and in face of terrorist scare that is plaguing Southeast Asia," he said.

However, Ople said visiting Spanish Deputy Foreign Minister Ramon Gil-Casares noted that red tape remains a major turn off among foreign investors in the Philippines.

At least 20 businessmen who were part of Gil-Casares’ delegation expressed interest in investing in the Philippines and other countries in Southeast Asia.

However, the Spanish official lamented the fact that the completion of Spanish government-funded projects in the country was delayed due to the need for some bureaucratic approval.

Gil-Casares cited the solar energy project in Mindanao, which intends to provide solar-powered electricity to thousands of barangays in the region, as one of the unfinished projects of Spain here.

"It seems that red tape is at the top of the list of their grievances because this program, for example, to energize the poorest barangays in Mindanao is taking six years and it’s still not finished," Ople said.

But the Foreign Affairs Secretary said that despite this, the country is slowly recovering from waning investor confidence.

Proof of this is the return of a top German shipping firm, Hapag Lloyd, in the country, which after five years of absence decided to come back to Manila to do business. Its cruise liners have just made port calls to Bacolod City, Puerto Princesa and Manila.

"This is a sign that the international business community is recognizing the fact that the Philippines continues to offer good business opportunities and they are proving this with upward investments in our economy," the secretary said.

During their meeting, Ople and Gil-Casares also discussed the revival of the aborted presidential trip of Mrs. Arroyo to Spain, which was re-scheduled for mid-March of 2003.

"In the course of which the President is expected to sign new strategic agreements with Spain both in the fight against terrorism and the fight against poverty," Ople revealed.

Apart from trade and investments, both governments also signed the RP-Spain Social Security Convention, which will provide protection of benefits to thousands of Filipinos in Spain, and the Protocol in Inter-Country Adoption that will enable Spanish families to adopt poor Filipino children.