Visas: nationals of a Member State, reciprocity mechanism to be used by a third country on the list in Annex II

PURPOSE: the amendment of Regulation 539/2001/EC regarding the reciprocity mechanism in visa arrangements.

LEGISLATIVE ACT: Council Regulation 851/2005/EC.

CONTENT: The Council adopted a Regulation amending Regulation 539/2001/EC by a qualified majority, with Poland and the Czech Republic voting against. The Regulation lists the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders of the Member States, and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement as regards the reciprocity mechanism.

The mechanism provided for in Regulation 539/2001/EC has proved unsuitable for dealing with situations of non-reciprocity in which a third country maintains or introduces a visa requirement for nationals from one or more Member States, so that the mechanism needs to be adapted to make it effective.

The list of third countries is unchanged from that in Regulation 539/2001/EC.

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 24/06/2005.