Activites

• 2010/03/31 Final act published in Official Journal
  • Regulation 2010/265
  • OJ L 085 31.03.2010, p. 0001
• 2010/03/25 Final act signed
• 2010/03/25 End of procedure in Parliament
• #3005
• 2010/03/22 Council Meeting
• 2010/03/22 Act adopted by Council after Parliament's 1st reading
• 2010/03/09 Results of vote in Parliament
  • Results of vote in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament
  • T7-0049/2010 summary

    The European Parliament adopted by 562 votes to 29 with 51 abstentions a legislative resolution setting out its position at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure (formerly known as the codecision procedure) on the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending the Convention Implementing the Schengen Agreement and Regulation (EC) No 562/2006 as regards movement of persons with a long-stay visa. The amendments contained in Parliament's position were the result of a compromise negotiated with the Council: Merging of related proposal: the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty had resulted in changes to the legal bases of many ongoing procedures. One of the consequences of this was that the parallel proposal 2008/0025(COD) on amending the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement as regards long-stay visas and alerts in the Schengen Information System, which had previously come under the consultation procedure, was now subject to the ordinary legislative procedure. Parliament agreed to  the Council and Commission's suggestion that the two procedures be merged and that the contents of Commission proposal COM(2009)0090 and of the draft reports in relation thereto  should be incorporated into procedure 2009/0028(COD) which is the subject of this procedure file. It therefore considered procedure 2005/0025(COD)  to have lapsed. Long-stay visas: Members specifed that visas for stays exceeding three months (‘long-stay visas’) should be national visas issued by one of the Member States in accordance with its national law or Community law. Such visas should be issued in the uniform format for visas as set out in Council Regulation (EC) No 1683/95 with the heading specifying the type of the visa with the letter “D”. They should be filled out in accordance with the relevant provisions in Annex VII to Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 on the Visa Code. Long-stay visas should have a period of validity of no more than one year. If a third-country national is allowed to stay for more than one year by a Member State, the long-stay visa should be replaced before the expiry of its period of validity by a residence permit. Free movement with valid residence permits: Parliament said that aliens who hold valid residence permits issued by one of the Member States should be able, on the basis of that permit and a valid travel document, to move freely for up to three months in any six-month period within the territories of the other Member States, provided that they fulfil the entry conditions referred to Regulation (EC) No 562/2006 on the Schengen Borders Code and are not on the national list of alerts of the Member State concerned. Searching the SIS: where a Member State considers issuing a residence permit, the responsible authority should systematically carry out a search in the Schengen Information System (SIS). Where a Member State considers issuing a residence permit to an alien for whom an alert has been issued for the purposes of refusing entry, it should first consult the Member State issuing the alert and take account of its interests; the residence permit should be issued for substantive reasons only, notably on humanitarian grounds or by reason of international commitments. Where a residence permit is issued, the Member State issuing the alert should withdraw the alert but should be able to put the alien concerned on its national list of alerts. Prior to issuing an alert for the purposes of refusing entry, Member States should check their national records of long stay visas or residence permits issued. These provisions should also apply to long-stay visas. Transit: third-country nationals who do not fulfill all the conditions laid down in the text but hold a residence permit, a long-stay visa or a re-entry visa issued by one of the Member States or, where required, a residence permit or a long-stay visa and a re-entry visa, should be authorised to enter the territories of the other Member States for transit purposes so that they may reach the territory of the Member State which issued the residence permit, long-stay visa or re-entry visa, unless their names are on the national list of alerts of the Member State whose external borders they are seeking to cross and the alert is accompanied by instructions to refuse entry or transit. Information: Parliament stipulated that the Commission and the Member States should inform the third-country nationals concerned fully and accurately of this Regulation. Report: by 5 April 2012, the Commission should submit to the European Parliament and the Council a report on the application of the Regulation. If appropriate, that report should be accompanied by a proposal to amend the Regulation. The Regulation should enter into force on 5 April 2010. The European Parliament also approved a joint declaration, annexed to the resolution, whereby the Council and the Parliament recognised the need for a comprehensive and coherent set of rules, at EU level, to ensure a high level of personal data protection under SIS II. If there were major delays, beyond 2012, in implementing SIS II, the Commission should present legislative proposals amending the relevant provisions of the Schengen Convention in order to ensure a level of protection of the personal data entered into the Schengen Information System equivalent to the standards established for SIS II.

• 2010/02/18 Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading
  • A7-0015/2010
• 2010/02/04 Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
• 2009/10/19 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
• 2009/03/24 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
• 2009/02/27 Legislative proposal published
  • COM(2009)0091 summary

    PURPOSE: to facilitate the circulation within the Schengen area without internal borders of third-country nationals legally residing in one of the Member States on the basis of a long-stay "D" visa issued by that Member State.PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council. BACKGROUND: in accordance with the current Schengen acquis, a third-country national holding a national long-stay visa ("D visa") for stays exceeding three months is allowed to stay only in the territory of the Member State which issued the visa and, pursuant to Article 18 of the Convention Implementing the Schengen Agreement, as amended by Regulation 1091/2001, is allowed to transit through the territories of the other Member States only in order to reach the State which issued the visa.Thus, according to present Community law, D visa holders are not allowed to travel to the other Member States during their stay and nor are they allowed to transit through the other States when returning to their country of origin, as this is not provided for by the Schengen Convention.The wording of the above provision of the Schengen Convention stems from the procedure generally applied at the time by the Member States whereby D visas are converted into a residence permit after arrival on the territory. On the basis of such a residence permit, third country nationals can then circulate within the Schengen area. For this reason, at the time of the conclusion of the Schengen Convention, Member States did not consider it necessary to regulate either the circulation and the return journey on the basis of a D visa, or a second transit to the Member State that had issued the D visa.Therefore, the Schengen Convention only provides the principle of equivalence between Schengen residence permits and visas applicable in the Schengen area: a residence permit issued by a Member State allows a third country national, holding the residence permit and a valid travel document, to move freely for up to three months within the territories of the other Member States during his/her stay.Article 5(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 562/2006 also provides for the possibility for third country nationals in possession of a valid residence permit issued by a Member State to cross the external borders of another Member State without a visa for stays not exceeding three months.However, in practice this situation caused serious problems.  More and more Member States do not replace D visas by residence permits after the entry of third-country nationals into their territory, or replace them only with considerable delays. Therefore, the Commission proposes the introduction of the principle of equivalence between long-stay and short-stay visas issued by the Member States fully implementing the Schengen acquis in order to overcome the present problems encountered by third-country nationals legally staying in a Member State with a long-stay visa.IMPACT ASSESSMENT: no impact assessment was carried out.CONTENT: this proposal and the parallel draft Regulation extend the principle of equivalence between a residence permit and short-stay visas to long-stay D visas. Hence a long-stay visa would have the same effects as a residence permit as regards circulation in the Schengen area.Principle: a third-country national holding a long-stay D visa issued by a Member State could travel to the other Member States for three months in any half year, under the same conditions as the holder of a residence permit. The rules regarding the issuance of long-stay visas remain unchanged as it was the case with the rules on the issuance of residence permits when the principle of equivalence between a residence permit and a short-stay visa was introduced. This would restore the basic philosophy underlying the Schengen area without internal borders, i.e. that a person can travel around in the Schengen area for short stays for three months in any half year with the document on the basis of which he is legally present in a Member State.Legal aspects: due to the conflicting decision making procedures attached to the different legal basis, the Commission had to draw up two separate proposals. Technically, the proposed Regulations will amend:Article 5(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 562/2006 of 15 March 2006 establishing a Community Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders (Schengen Borders Code), on the entry conditions for third-country nationals and Article 21 of the Convention Implementing the Schengen Agreement – present proposal for a Regulation based on  Article 62 (2)(a) and (3) of the TEC and shall be adopted in accordance with the co-decision procedure;Articles 18 and 25 of the Convention Implementing the Schengen Agreement of 14 June 1985 (between the Governments of the States of the Benelux Economic Union, the Federal Republic of Germany and the French Republic on the gradual abolition of checks at their borders) – proposed parallel Regulation based on Articles 63 (3)(a) of the TEC and shall be adopted at unanimity in the Council after consulting the European Parliament.It should be noted that contrary to the proposed parallel Regulation, this proposed Regulation does not make any changes to important provisions of the Schengen Convention as regards the security aspects (obligation to consult the SIS and the other Member States in case of an alert would also apply when Member States consider the issuance of a long-stay visa to a third-country national or when Member States discover an alert which has been issued to a third-country national who holds a valid long-stay visa).Territorial provisions: Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein are associated with the implementation of this draft Regulation in accordance with bilateral agreements concluded with the EU on the Schengen acquis. The United Kingdom and Ireland is not participating in the adoption and the implementation of this text in accordance with the Protocol annexed to the Treaty on European Union.Denmark is not taking part in the adoption of this Regulation and is not bound by it or subject to its application. However, it may decide within a period of six months after the date of adoption of this Regulation whether it will implement this Regulation in its national law.BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS: the proposal has no implications for the Community budget.

  • DG {'url': 'http://ec.europa.eu/justice/', 'title': 'Justice'}, MALMSTRÖM Cecilia

Documents

• Legislative proposal published: COM(2009)0091
• Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading: A7-0015/2010
• Results of vote in Parliament: Results of vote in Parliament
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T7-0049/2010
• : Regulation 2010/265
• : OJ L 085 31.03.2010, p. 0001

History

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