LISTS OF THIRD COUNTRIES WHOSE NATIONALS
REQUIRE VISAS AND THOSE WHOSE NATIONALS ARE VISA-EXEMPT
(21694)
11765/00
COM(00) 577
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Amended draft Council Regulation determining the list of third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement.
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| Legal base:
| Article 62(2)(b)(i) EC; consultation; qualified majority voting
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| Document originated:
| 21 September 2000 |
| Forwarded to the Council:
| 21 September 2000 |
| Deposited in Parliament:
| 27 October 2000 |
| Department: |
Home Office |
| Basis of consideration:
| EM of 9 November 2000 |
| Previous Committee Report:
| None; but see (21050) 6379/00; HC 23-xiv (1999-2000), paragraph 7 (12 April 2000)
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| To be discussed in Council:
| 30 November-1 December 2000
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| Committee's assessment:
| Politically important |
| Committee's decision:
| Cleared, but further information requested
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Background
18.1 This draft Regulation is intended to replace
the existing Common Visa List Regulation, adopted in March 1999.
As the legal base falls within Title IV of the EC Treaty, the
UK had three months from the formal publication of the proposal
in which to decide whether to opt in to the measure (in accordance
with the provisions in the Protocol on the position of the United
Kingdom and Ireland now annexed to the EC Treaty and the Treaty
of European Union).
18.2 We cleared an earlier version of this draft
measure[47]
in April, noting that UK participation seemed unlikely. The Minister
of State at the Home Office (Mrs Barbara Roche) has now deposited
the current document, together with an Explanatory Memorandum.
In this, she explains that the UK has, indeed, decided not to
opt in to the measure.
The document
18.3 The Explanatory Memorandum to the document
details the changes in it. These stem both from amendments suggested
by the European Parliament (EP) and from further work in the Council.
The proposal still has two Annexes. Annex I lists those third
countries whose nationals will be required to have visas when
crossing the external borders of the Member States. Annex II lists
those third countries whose nationals will be exempt from that
requirement. The most significant amendment is the introduction
of a reciprocity mechanism in the event of a third country on
the visa- exempt list requiring visas from nationals of an EU
Member State.
The position of Bulgaria and Romania
18.4 In the first version of the document that
we considered, Bulgaria and Romania appeared in the visa-exempt
list (Annex II). The Explanatory Memorandum to that document supported
their inclusion in that list on the grounds that they had made
satisfactory progress in relevant areas such as border controls,
and that accession negotiations had been opened with both.
18.5 The current document, however, does not
include Bulgaria and Romania in either list. No mention of this
omission is made either in the Explanatory Memorandum to the draft
Regulation or in the Government's Explanatory Memorandum. We understand
that, although the EP supported the Commission, not all Member
States agreed that nationals from Bulgaria and Romania should
be visa-exempt. The French Presidency has now apparently proposed
adding a further list of "visa exemption deferred countries"
to include Bulgaria and Romania (and also perhaps Hong Kong and
Macau, currently listed as Special administrative regions of
China, in Annex 2). No information about the implications
of this new category has been provided to us, but it appears that
nationals of countries on the list would continue to need visas,
at least in the short term.
The Government's view
18.6 The Government's Explanatory Memorandum
does not comment on the proposal itself, but focuses on the UK's
position. The Minister explains that the existing Common Visa
List will cease to be binding on the UK once the draft Regulation
is agreed, and the UK will in future be free to decide its own
visa policy on a case by case basis. It has no immediate plans
to lift any existing visa requirements or to impose any new ones.
Conclusion
18.7 Despite the UK's decision not to participate
in the measure, we consider that the Explanatory Memorandum should
have provided us with more information about the amended proposal,
and particularly about the position of Bulgaria, Romania, Hong
Kong and Macau.
18.8 Therefore, although we clear the document,
we ask the Minister to let us know the outcome of discussions
at the Justice and Home Affairs Council, with particular reference
to the proposal for a "visa exemption deferred" list
and the countries which would be on it.
47 (21050) 6379/00; see headnote to this paragraph. Back
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