Proposal for a Regulation on the Union Code on Visas (Visa Code) (recast)

Summary:

Legislative initiative put forward by the European Commission in April 2014, which recasts and amends Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 establishing a Community Code on Visas (Visa Code).

Further information:

The EU common visa code (the Visa Code) was adopted in 2009 by means of Regulation 810/2009. It establishes the procedures and conditions for issuing short-stay visas for entry into and transit through the Schengen area, valid for up to three months.

This proposal takes into account the increased political emphasis given to the economic impact of visa policy on the wider economy of the European Union (EU). It is line with the Communication on the implementation and development of a common visa policy and also aims to ensure greater consistency with the growth objectives of the 'Europe 2020' strategy. The proposal also builds on the conclusions drawn in the Report on the evaluation of the implementation of the Visa Code.

This proposal contains two measures to facilitate family contacts by introducing certain procedural facilitations for:

• close relatives coming to visit Union citizens residing in the territory of the Member State of which the latter are nationals;
• close relatives of Union citizens living in a third country and wishing to visit together with the Union citizen the Member State of which the latter is a national.

Furthermore, it clarifies that the same procedural facilitations should as a minimum be granted to family members of EU citizens who benefit from article 5(2), second subparagraph of Directive 2004/38/EC.

This proposal was adopted by the European Commission on 1 April 2014, as part of a legislative package aimed at introducing facilitations in the processing of Schengen visas. Both the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union adopted their negotiating positions, on 16 March and 7 April 2016 respectively. However, disagreements of both institutions regarding certain issues prevented a compromise agreeement during interinstitutional negotiations. In March 2018, the Commission decided to withdraw this legislative proposal and publish a revised version which incorporated certain aspects of the withdrawn initiative.

Official

EUR-Lex: SWD(2014)68: Impact assessment http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=SWD:2014:68:FIN

EUR-Lex: SWD(2014)67: Executive summary of the impact assessment http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=SWD:2014:67:FIN

European Parliament: Legislative Observatory: Procedure File for Proposal on Union Code on Visas (Visa Code). Recast https://oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/ficheprocedure.do?lang=en&reference=2014/0094(OLP)

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