Proposal for a Council Regulation 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
C 177 E/66 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 27. 6. 2000 for a Council Regulation listing the third countries whose nationals must be in Proposal possession of visas when crossing the external borders and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement (2000/C 177 E/09) COM(2000) 27 final - 2000/0030(CNS) (Submitted by the Commission on 26 January 2000) THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 62(2)(b)(i) thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament, Whereas: the list of (1) Under Article 62(2)(b) of the Treaty, the Council is to adopt rules relating to visas for intended stays of no more than three months, and in that context required to determine third countries whose those nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement (1). Article 61 cites those lists among the flanking measures which are directly linked to the free movement of persons in an area of freedom, security and justice. is it (2) The determination of those third countries whose nationals are subject to the visa requirement, and those exempt from it, is governed by a considered, case-by-case assessment of a variety of criteria relating to illegal immigration, public policy and security, and to the European Union’s external relations with third countries, consideration also being given to the implications of regional coherence and reci- procity. (3) The circumstances of third-country nationals issued by that State are such that residing lawfully in a Member State and holding a residence permit further visa requirements are superfluous when they cross external borders. The principle that a residence permit is equivalent to a visa should be laid down for this category of persons, without prejudice to other conditions for entry or to other rules applying to travel within the Community by holders of residence permits. the Republic of (1) Under Article 1 of the Agreement concluded by the Council of the European Union, Iceland and the Kingdom of Norway concerning the latters’ association with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis, this proposal will have to be considered by the Joint Committee in accordance with Article 4 of the Agreement. (4) As regards stateless persons, who have lost any links with any particular State, and recognised refugees, who are unable to avail themselves of the protection of the State of which they have the nationality, the decision as to the visa requirement or exemption should be based on a simple criterion reflecting the fact the State where these persons them its protection and issues them with travel documents. reside affords that (5) In specific cases where special visa rules are warranted, Member States may exempt certain categories of persons from the visa requirement or impose it on them in accordance with public international law or custom. (6) With a view to ensuring that the system is administered the persons concerned are informed, openly and that Member States should communicate to the other Member States and to the Commission the measures which they take pursuant to this Regulation. For the same reasons, that information should also be published in the Official Journal of the European Communities. (7) In accordance with the principal of proportionality stated by Article 5 of the Treaty, enacting a Regulation listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders, and those whose nationals are exempt is both a necessary and an appropriate means of ensuring that the common visa rules operate efficiently. from that requirement (8) This Regulation provides for full harmonisation as regards the third countries whose nationals are subject to the visa requirement for the crossing of Member States’ external borders, and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement. Accordingly, is appropriate to replace it existing Community law on the subject, HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: Article 1 1. Nationals of third countries on the list in Annex I shall be required to be in possession of a visa when crossing the external borders of the Member States. 2. Nationals of third countries on the common list in Annex II shall be exempt from the requirement set out in paragraph 1. 27. 6. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 177 E/67 Nationals of third countries formerly part of countries on 3. the lists contained in Annexes I and II shall be subject to the requirements of paragraphs 1 and 2 unless and until the Council decides otherwise under the procedure laid down in the relevant provision of the Treaty. Article 2 For the purposes of this Regulation, ávisaí shall mean an auth- orisation issued or a decision taken by a Member State which is required for entry into its territory with a view to: - an intended stay in that Member State or in several Member States of no more than three months in all, - transit through the territory of that Member State or several Member States, except for transit through the international zones of airports and transfers between airports in a Member State. Article 3 For nationals of third countries listed in Annex I, a valid residence permit issued by one of the Member States shall be equivalent to a visa for the purposes of crossing external borders. (d) the crew of ships navigating in international waters; (e) the holders of official documents issued by international organisations. 2. A Member State may exempt from the visa requirement a school pupil having the nationality of a third country listed in Annex I who resides in a third country listed in Annex II and is travelling in the context of a school excursion as a member of a group of school pupils accompanied by a teacher from the school in question. Article 6 1. Within 10 working days of the entry into force of this Regulation, Member States shall communicate to the other residence Member States and the Commission the list of the purposes of Article 3 and the permits exception measures they have taken pursuant to Article 5. Any further changes to this list and to those measures shall be similarly communicated within five working days. relevant for The Commission 2. the measures shall communicated pursuant to paragraph 1 in the Official Journal of the European Communities for information. publish Article 4 Article 7 Stateless persons and recognised refugees shall be subject to the visa requirement or shall be exempted from it on the same terms as nationals of the non-member State in which they reside and which issued their travel document. Article 5 1. A Member State may provide for exceptions from the visa requirement provided for by Article 1(1) or for the exemption from the visa requirement provided for by Article 1(2) as regards: (a) holders of diplomatic passports, official-duty passports and other official passports; (b) civilian air and sea crew; Regulation (EC) No 574/1999 (1) is replaced by this Regu- 1. lation. 2. Annex I to the Common Consular Instruction and Annex V to the Common Manual, as laid down by the decision of the 1999 Schengen Committee (SCH/Com-ex(99)13) concerning the final versions of the Common Manual and the Common Consular Instruction, are replaced by Annexes I and II to this Regulation. 28 April Executive of Article 8 This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities. (c) the flight crew and attendants on emergency or rescue in the event of disaster or flights and other helpers accident; This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in the Member States in accordance with the Treaty establishing the European Community. (1) OJ L 72, 18. 3. 1999, p. 2. C 177 E/68 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 27. 6. 2000 ANNEX I LIST REFERRED TO IN ARTICLE 1(1) 1. STATES Afghanistan Albania Algeria Angola Antigua and Barbuda Armenia Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belize Benin Bhutan Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Burkina Faso Burma/Myanmar Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad China Colombia Congo Côte d’Ivoire Cuba Democratic Republic of the Congo Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Egypt Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Ethiopia Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia- Montenegro) Fiji Former Yogoslav Republic of Macedonia Gabon Gambia Georgia Ghana Grenada Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti India Indonesia Iran Iraq Jamaica Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagascar Malawi Maldives Mali Marshall Islands Mauritania Mauritius Micronesia Moldova Mongolia Morocco Mozambique Namibia Nauru Nepal Niger Nigeria North Korea Northern Marianas Oman Pakistan Palau Papua New Guinea Peru Philippines Qatar Russia Rwanda Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Sªo TomØ and Príncipe Saudi Arabia Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa Sri Lanka Sudan Surinam Swaziland Syria Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand The Comoros Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vietnam Western Samoa Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe 2. ENTITIES AND TERRITORIAL AUTHORITIES THAT ARE NOT RECOGNISED AS STATES BY AT LEAST ONE MEMBER STATE East Timor Palestinian Authority Taiwan 27. 6. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 177 E/69 1. STATES Andorra Argentina Australia Bolivia Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Canada Chile Costa Rica Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Ecuador Estonia Guatemala ANNEX II LIST REFERRED TO IN ARTICLE 1(2) Holy See Honduras Hungary Israel Japan Latvia Lithuania Malaysia Malta Mexico Monaco New Zealand Nicaragua Panama Paraguay Poland Romania Salvador San Marino Singapore Slovakia Slovenia South Korea Switzerland United States of America Uruguay Venezuela Iceland (1) Liechtenstein (1) Norway (1) 2. ENTITIES AND TERRITORIAL AUTHORITIES THAT ARE NOT RECOGNISED AS STATES BY AT LEAST ONE MEMBER STATE Hong Kong SAR Macao SAR ___________ (1) The visa exemption applicable to nationals of this country is not based on this Regulation but on the EEA Agreement