| Author (Corporate) | European Commission |
|---|---|
| Series Title | COM |
| Series Details | (2015) 105 final (5.3.15) |
| Publication Date | 05/03/2015 |
| Content Type | Policy-making |
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Council Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 lists the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of a visa when crossing the external borders of the Member States and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement. Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 is applied by all Member States, with the exception of Ireland and the United Kingdom. Regulation (EU) No 509/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council amended Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 by transferring 19 countries to Annex II, which lists the third countries whose nationals are exempt from the visa requirement. The reference to each of those countries in Annex II is accompanied by a footnote which specifies that "the exemption from the visa requirement shall apply from the date of entry into force of an agreement on visa exemption to be concluded with the European Union". Regulation (EU) No 509/2014 was adopted on 20 May 2014 and entered into force on 9 June 2014. In July 2014, the Commission presented a Recommendation to the Council to authorise it to start negotiations on visa waiver agreements. The negotiations on the visa waiver agreement with Trinidad and Tobago and the four other Caribbean countries were opened on 12 November 2014 in Brussels. During that meeting the entire draft text could be reviewed and agreement was reached on most of its aspects. The representatives from the Caribbean countries insisted however on clarifying certain provisions in Articles 6(2)(c), 8(1) and 8(4). After a number of subsequent informal exchanges, minor modifications to those Articles were accepted by the Commission. The agreement was initialled by the chief negotiators on 15 December 2014. |
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| Source Link | http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM:2015:105:FIN |
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| Countries / Regions | Caribbean, Europe |
