Visas: listing of the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders of Member States and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement

The European Parliament adopted a resolution drafted by Ioannis Varvitsiotis (EPP-ED, Greece) and made the following amendments to the proposal:

- when Regulation 539/2001 is next reviewed, the case of other small island states should be examined;

- an amended recital clarified that Member States may exempt from the visa requirement recognised refugees, all stateless persons, both those falling within the scope of the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and those falling outside its scope, and school pupils travelling on school excursions who reside in a third country listed in Annex II. A full exemption from the visa requirement already exists for these three categories of persons residing within the Schengen area when they re-enter that area. A general exemption should be introduced for persons in those categories residing in a Member State which has not or not yet joined the Schengen area, as far as their re-entry into the territory of any other Member State bound by the Schengen acquis is concerned.