PURPOSE: to amend
Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 listing the third countries whose nationals must be
in possession of visas when crossing the external borders and those whose nationals
are exempt from that requirement so as to allow, under certain conditions,
citizens from several Western Balkan countries (former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia) to enter the EU.
PROPOSED ACT:
Council Regulation.
CONTENT: in
proposing to amend Regulation
(EC) No 539/2001 as last amended by Regulation
(EC) No 1932/2006, the Commission is pursuing the following objectives:
- adjusting
the two annexes to the Regulation, so as to fully reflect the new
situation in the countries of the Western Balkan region, considering the
political commitment taken by the European Union on the liberalisation
of the short term visa requirement for the citizens of all Western
Balkan countries as part of the Thessaloniki agenda and the progress
made in the visa liberalisation dialogues started in 2008 with Albania,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,
Montenegro and Serbia;
- ensuring
that this adjustment for Western Balkan countries is in line with the
need for periodic review of Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 and the
composition of its annexes – which contain the list of third countries
whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the
external borders of Member States (Annex I) and the list of those whose nationals
are exempt from that requirement (Annex II) – and that it complies with
the criteria set out in recital 5, in particular as regards the illegal
immigration and public policy criteria for transferring countries from
one annex to another as appropriate;
- transferring
the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia from
the Annex I to the Annex II of the Regulation; introducing Kosovo under
United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1244/99 into Annex I
of Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 under "Entities and territorial
authorities that are not recognised as states by at least one Member
State". This is without prejudice to the status of Kosovo under
UNSCR 1244/99 (no dialogue on visa liberalisation has been started with
this territorial entity). Serbian and Montenegro should however meet all
benchmarks of their respective roadmaps by the date of adoption of this
proposal by the Council.
Bearing in mind that the introduction of new biometric passports
by the Western Balkan countries constitutes a fundamental element in the visa
liberalisation dialogues, the visa waiver for the citizens of each of these
countries should only apply to those who are holders of such biometric
passports.
It should be noted that the Commission considers that holders of
Serbian passports issued by the specific Coordination Directorate (in Serbian:
Koordinaciona uprava) should be excluded from the visa free regime for
Serbia.
IMPACT
ASSESSMENT: not applicable.
BUDGETARY
IMPLICATION: the proposed amendment has no implication for the Community
budget.