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The European Commission adopts visa reciprocity with certain number of third countries

The European Commission adopted its Second Report on cases where visa waiver non-reciprocity is maintained with certain third countries. This shows progress: visa reciprocity has now been achieved with a…

The European Commission adopted its Second Report on cases where visa waiver non-reciprocity is maintained with certain third countries. This shows progress: visa reciprocity has now been achieved with a  certain number of countries. On the contrary, for the United States the opening of a dialogue is encouraging but there is no tangible progress for the moment towards visa exemption.

Vice-President Franco Frattini, Commissioner responsible for Justice, Freedom and Security underlined the significance of the common EU visa policy: “This entails full solidarity with the new Member States who had to abolish the visa obligation for third countries of the positive list but have not received full reciprocity in return. The new reciprocity mechanism has already proven effective as several third countries have granted full reciprocity to all Member States as was evidenced in the first report. The second reciprocity report shows further progress.”

Main conclusions of the Report show that visa reciprocity has now also been achieved with Uruguay, Costa Rica and Paraguay. Furthermore, Malaysia has taken the administrative arrangements to restore visa reciprocity and Brunei has officially announced its intentions to restore it. Brazil is committed to ensure full visa reciprocity, but this will require a specific agreement with the European Community. The Commission will soon request from the Council the authorisation to negotiate such an agreement.

While recognising that we are still far from obtaining visa reciprocity from Canada and Australia, the Commission has registered some progress in the last contacts with them. This progress consists in a clearer framework for result-oriented dialogue and an increased transparency in the criteria to meet by the Member States to be granted the visa reciprocity. In addition, Canada has lifted the visa requirement for Estonia already.

This being said, it is clear that the situation as regards the United States of America is not improving and our American counterpart does not seem willing to engage in a result-oriented dialogue at short notice.

Based on future developments with the third countries concerned the Commission will reflect on how full reciprocity for all Member States can be achieved within the shortest possible time. Consequently, the Commission intends to submit a new report already before 31 March 2007.

Second Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on cases where visa waiver non-reciprocity is maintained with certain third countries

The issue: the new visa reciprocity mechanism

Regulation N° 539/2001 establishes the joint lists of third countries whose citizens are required to have a visa (negative list) and of third countries whose citizens are exempted from the visa requirement (positive list) by the Schengen Member States.

By date of accession, the 10 new Member States had to implement this Regulation and abolish the visa obligation for third countries of the positive list.

However, a series of these third countries maintained the visa obligation for citizens of one or more Member States, namely Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Venezuela, Brazil, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Uruguay, Australia, United States of America and Canada.

On 2 June 2005, the Council adopted Regulation N° 851/2005 amending Regulation N° 539/2001. The purpose of this amendment was to render the reciprocity mechanism smoother and more efficient by taking out the strict automatism in case of notification by the Member States concerned, of the introduction of the visa requirement for the nationals of a third country that maintains or introduces a visa obligation for the citizens of one or more Member States. Based on Regulation N° 851/2005 the Commission had to present a report on the steps taken by it in view of full reciprocal visa free travel with the third countries concerned.

The new mechanism builds on a system of compulsory notification of cases of non-reciprocity, diplomatic steps by the Commission to ensure reciprocity in visa waiver for all EU Member States and Commission reports to the Council that are possibly accompanied by proposals for a temporary reintroduction of the visa obligation for the nationals of third countries concerned.

The new mechanism also includes a joint Council/Commission declaration, which has been annexed to the 2.6.2005 Council minutes, and refers to the possibility to apply to the third country or countries concerned other provisional measures, particularly in political, economic or commercial fields.

The first Commission report was adopted on 10 January 2006. It describes the steps taken by the Commission towards the third countries which had been notified by Member States in relation with non reciprocity situations and gives detailed information about the results of these contacts.

In case of persisting non-reciprocity situations, the Commission shall report “before the 1 July of every even-numbered year” to the EP and the Council. In accordance with this provision the Commission had to prepare the next report by 1 July 2006.

Content of the first Commission report of 10 January 2006

The first Commission report was adopted on 10 January 2006. It describes the steps taken by the Commission towards the third countries which had been notified by Member States in relation with non reciprocity situations and gives detailed information about the results of these contacts.

Main conclusion of the report:

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