Speech Rehn over het Europese visumbeleid voor landen in de Westelijke Balkan (en)

SPEECH/06/441

Mr Olli Rehn

Member of the European Commission, responsible for Enlargement

`EXIT' festival,

Novi Sad, 6 July 2006

As the European Commissioner for Enlargement, my aim is to bring the young people of this region fully into the European mainstream. The EXIT Festival is a great way to bring people together. I'm delighted to be here.

However, I was alarmed to see a survey showing that 70 per cent of Serbian students have never travelled outside their own country. I hear terrible stories about the costs and the hassle people from Novi Sad, Ohrid, Durres, Tuzla or other places in this region have to endure in order to get a visa. I know that getting a single visa can involve several visits to the Embassy or consulate in question, hours in queues, a bureaucratic and costly nightmare in assembling the requested supporting documents, tickets, invitations, translations etc, etc.

I am therefore pleased that the European Commission is now making headway on visa facilitation. This is the first step towards liberalisation of the visa regime, which will take longer. Visa policy is mainly under the control of the Member States, not the Commission. The 25 EU Member States have to decide unanimously to move a country onto the Schengen list of countries that don't need a visa.

But facilitation will bring some welcome relief for hard-pressed applicants in the short term. Let me explain what this involves. The Commission is proposing to the Member States a list of measures to make it easier for people to travel to the EU, for example:

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  No fee for certain groups, so that some people will not have to pay to get a visa - for example school pupils, students and researchers;
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  For those who still need to pay for a visa, the fee should be kept at 35 euro, not raised to 60 euro;
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  The handling of applications should be speeded up (about 10 days for normal cases) and there should be simpler requirements for the documents to be presented with the application.

We want to make life simpler for all people in this region applying for visas. The Commission has asked the Member States to allow us to negotiate agreements to enter into force next year. The citizens of this region will thus avoid the rise in the visa fee to €60 which the Member States have decided to apply next year to countries that don't have visa facilitation.

What do the countries of the region have to do?

They have to do their part to convince the EU that they merit visa facilitation. They need to improve the security issues that worry the EU, such as the fighting more effectively against organised crime, corruption and illegal migration, improving their border control and security of documents, and ensuring the rule of law. The EU supports this work by providing policy advice and plenty of financial assistance.

The European Union is committed to giving EU membership to the countries of this region once each of them meets the conditions. Joining the EU takes sustained efforts over many years. But the reform process is worth it, because it brings direct benefits to the countries that want to join. It is a great opportunity to enter a virtuous circle of better governance and increasing prosperity. You can see this clearly from the improvements in people's lives in Hungary, Slovakia and other countries near here. The reforms were not easy, but now life is much better there and young people especially have more opportunities as EU citizens.

As we are in Serbia, let me say one thing especially to the Serbs in the audience. Your perspective to join the EU is as real as anybody else's. But there are long-standing and well-known conditions to do so. The EU expects your government to achieve full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague. Some people here say that it's because of one man that Serbia is held back. But this is not just about catching "one man" - although that needs to happen. It is about respecting international law, and ensuring that democratic forces are fully in control in this country. It is also about dealing with the legacy of the past and consolidating peace.

Let me conclude by saying that everybody wants to travel and see the world, and maybe work or study abroad for some time. It's not asking too much. Of course you should get to travel and broaden your horizons. The European Commission is committed to helping you to do this.

When I saw the signs for the EXIT Festival, I thought about the great success of the EXIT campaign in getting rid of dictatorship and war. Let me ask whether maybe you should now start an entry campaign, for entering the EU? I'll finish just by saying that I look forward to meeting you all again in the future at the entry festival to the European Union!