Activites

• 1995/07/14 Final act published in Official Journal
  • Regulation 1995/1683
  • OJ L 164 14.07.1995, p. 0001
• #1847
• 1995/05/29 Council Meeting
• 1995/05/29 End of procedure in Parliament
• 1995/05/29 Act adopted by Council after consultation of Parliament
• 1995/01/16 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament
  • T4-0001/1995 summary

    In adopting the LEHNE report, the European Parliament approved the proposal for a regulation with certain amendments. The EP considered that it was important to clarify that the regulation applied solely to visas for short-term stays (around three months). In addition, it pointed out that the secret specifications should not include or refer to personal data but should be confined to data necessary to prevent counterfeiting and falsification of the visa itself. The uniform visa format should comply with the provisions of the European Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data of 28 January 1981 and the recommendation of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe regulating the use of personal data in the police sector adopted on 17 September 1987. �

• 1994/12/19 Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
  • A4-0117/1994
• 1994/09/26 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
• 1994/07/13 Legislative proposal published
  • COM(1994)0287 summary

    The proposal for a regulation was based on Article 100c(3) of the Treaty, which called on the Council to adopt, before 1 January 1996, measures concerning the uniform format for visas issued by the Member States. It complemented the proposal that had already been submitted to establish a joint list of the third countries whose citizens would require a visa to enter the EU and aimed to help achieve the free movement of persons within the internal market. A visa referred to any type of authorisation to enter the territory of a Member State that was valid for no more than three months, during a six-month period, either continuously or consisting of several visits. The uniform format should have the following characteristics: it should contain all the necessary information and meet very high technical standards, particularly as regards safeguards against counterfeiting and falsification; it should be suited to use by all the Member States; it should bear universally recognisable security features that were clearly visible to the naked eye. It should comply with the provisions concerning the protection of personal data. In addition, an individual to whom a visa had been issued should have the right to access and amend inexact, irrelevant or excessive information. The uniform format took account of the work carried out in the context of the Schengen Agreement, which should respond to the same requirements. Only one body in each Member State should have responsibility for printing the uniform format for visas. The annex to the regulation included a box beginning with the words "valid for", in which the issuing Member State should indicate the territory for which entry was authorised. This meant that the visa's validity could be limited to the territory of each Member State until the Convention on the crossing of the external borders of the Community entered into force. From then on, the majority of visas issued by the Member States would be valid throughout the Community, except in exceptional circumstances. �

Documents

• Legislative proposal published: COM(1994)0287
• Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading: A4-0117/1994
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T4-0001/1995
• : Regulation 1995/1683
• : OJ L 164 14.07.1995, p. 0001

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)