PURPOSE: to conclude an Agreement between the European
Union and Azerbaijan aiming to facilitate the issuance of
visas.
PROPOSED ACT: Council Decision.
BACKGROUND: in the context of the Warsaw Eastern
Partnership Summit Declaration of 30 September 2011, the EU and the
partner countries confirmed their political support for enhancing
the mobility of citizens in a secure and well-managed environment
and reaffirmed their intention to take gradual steps towards a visa
free regime for their citizens in due course.
On that basis the Commission presented on 16 September
2011, a recommendation to the Council in order to authorise the
Commission to open negotiations with Azerbaijan on a Visa
Facilitation Agreement.
Following the authorisation given by the Council on 19
December 2011, the negotiations with Azerbaijan on the Agreement
were opened in Baku on 1 March 2012 and continued until 13 March
2013 in Brussels. The final text of the Agreement was initialled in
Brussels on 29 July 2013 by the chief negotiators.
Member States have been regularly informed and
consulted in the relevant Council Working Groups at all stages of
the negotiations.
The Commission considers that the objectives set by
the Council in its negotiating directives were attained and that
the draft Agreement is acceptable to the Union. The European
Parliament needs to give its consent to the Agreement.
It is necessary now to conclude the Agreement on
behalf of the EU.
CONTENT: the proposed decision provides that the
Council conclude, on behalf of the EU, the Agreement between the EU
and Azerbaijan on visa facilitation.
Terms of the Agreement:
the main provisions are as follows:
·
for all visa applicants, a decision on whether
or not to issue a visa will have to be taken within 10 calendar
days. This period may be extended up to 30 calendar days when
further scrutiny is needed. In urgent cases, the period for taking
a decision may be reduced to two working days or less. As a rule,
the visa applicants can have an appointment for lodging their
application within a period of two weeks from the date of request
and in cases of urgency immediately or without an
appointment;
·
the visa fee for processing applications shall amount to EUR
35. This fee will be applied to all visa applicants and
concerns both single and multiple-entry visas. Moreover, certain
categories of persons benefit from a full waiver of the visa fee:
pensioners, close relatives, members of official delegations
participating in government activities, pupils, students (including
postgraduate students), persons with disabilities, journalists and
the technical crew accompanying them, representatives of civil
society organisations, children under the age of 12, humanitarian
cases and persons participating in scientific, cultural, artistic
activities and sport events;
·
the documents to be presented regarding the purpose of the journey
have been simplified for some categories of persons: close
relatives, business people, members of official delegations,
pupils, students and post-graduate students, participants in
scientific, cultural and sporting events, journalists, persons
visiting military and civil burials, representatives of civil
society, members of the professions, drivers conducting
international cargo and passenger transportation services,
participants in official exchange programmes of twin cities and
persons visiting for medical reasons. For these categories of
persons, only the documents listed in the Agreement may be
requested for justifying the purpose of the journey. No other
justification, invitation or validation provided for by the
legislation of the Member States or Azerbaijan will be
required;
·
simplified criteria for issuing multiple-entry visas for the following
categories of persons: (i) for permanent members of official
delegations and spouses and children visiting citizens of the EU
legally residing in the territory of Azerbaijan or citizens of
Azerbaijan legally residing in the Member States or EU citizens
residing in the territory of the Member States of which they are
nationals or citizens of Azerbaijan residing in the territory of
Azerbaijan: visas valid for five years (or shorter, limited to the
period of the validity of their mandate or authorisation for legal
residence); (ii) participants in scientific, cultural, official
exchange programmes and sport events, journalists, students,
business people, members of official delegations, representatives
of civil society, members of the professions and drivers, provided
that during the previous two years they have made good use of 1
year multiple-entry visas and the reasons for requesting a
multiple-entry are still valid: visas valid for a minimum of two
years and a maximum of 5 years are issued;
Other provisions: these are as follows:
·
a protocol addresses the specific situation of
Member States that do not yet fully apply the Schengen acquis and
their unilateral recognition of Schengen visas and residence
permits issued to citizens of Azerbaijan for the purpose of transit
through their territory in accordance with Council Decision N°
582/2008/EC;
·
a Joint Declaration is attached to the Agreement
on the implementation of Article 10 on diplomatic
passports;
·
a Joint Declaration is attached to the Agreement
on cooperation on travel documents and regular exchange of
information on travel document security;
·
a Joint Declaration reaffirming that the
Agreement does not affect the ability of individual Member States
and Azerbaijan to conclude bilateral Visa Waiver Agreements for
holders of service passports.
Territorial provisions:
the specific situations of Denmark, the United Kingdom and Ireland
are reflected in the preamble. The close association of Iceland,
Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the implementation,
application and development of the Schengen acquis is reflected in
a Joint Declaration to the Agreement.