Een Europees beleid voor reizen zonder visum - achtergronden (en)

zaterdag 14 januari 2006

The short stay visa policy (for envisaged stays of up to three months) is a common policy of the European Union based on the Schengen co-operation. The UK and Ireland do not implement the common visa policy but Iceland and Norway do, as countries associated with the implementation of the Schengen acquis. The key elements of the common visa policy are:

  • The common lists of third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders (negative list) and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement (positive list[2]) .
  • The uniform format for visas[3].
  • The common rules and procedures for issuing visas as laid down in the Common Consular Instructions[4].
  • The mutual recognition of visas: a short stay visa issued by one Schengen State is in principle valid for travelling to all Schengen States
  • The principle of reciprocity and the reciprocity mechanism. The reciprocity mechanism aims at ensuring that third countries of the positive list exempt from the visa requirement the nationals of all Member States. The old reciprocity mechanism proved to be inefficient in ensuring that objective, so the Commission proposed a new mechanism that was adopted by the Council as Regulation EC No 851/2005 of 2 June 2005 amending Council Regulation EC No 539/2001 of 15 March 2001.

The new mechanism can be summarized as follows:

  • Member States had to notify by 24 July 2005 all existing non reciprocity situations: notifications are published in the Official Journal;
  • The Commission in consultation with the Member States had to take steps immediately with the authorities of the third countries maintaining a visa requirement for citizens of Member States in order to restore visa-free travel;

Within three months from the publication of the notifications in the Official Journal (OJ C 251 of 11.10.2005), the Commission had to present a report (COM(2006) 3 final, which was adopted on 10 January 2006) to the Council, possibly accompanied by a proposal providing for the temporary restoration of the visa requirement for the nationals of the third countries concerned.

In addition, a Council and Commission joint declaration which was published in the Official Journal (OJ C 172, 12.7.2005, p. 1) refers to the possibility to apply to the third countries concerned other provisional measures, particularly in political, economic and commercial fields.

[1] Com (2006) 3 final, 10 janvier 2006

[2] Council Regulation 539/2001, OJ L 81 of 21.3.2001, p.1

[3] Council Regulation 1638/95 OJ L 164 of 17.07.1995, p.1

[4] OJ C 326 of 22.12.2005, p1

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