State of play and way forward as regards the situation of non-reciprocity in the area of visa policy

Summary:

On 19 December 2018 the European Commission presented a communication reporting on progress made in the past 12 months towards achieving visa-reciprocity with the United States, as the only remaining case of non-reciprocity.

Further information:

A fundamental principle of EU visa policy is to ensure that third countries on the visa-free list grant a reciprocal visa waiver to citizens of all EU Member States. To support this objective, a visa reciprocity mechanism was set up. In the framework of the reciprocity mechanism, the Commission adopted Communications reporting on progress in April 2016, July 2016, December 2016, May 2017 and December 2017.

The number of non-reciprocity cases has been vastly reduced in the last three-and-a-half years, with the US now being the only country in the EU's visa-free list which does not grant visa-free access to all EU citizens. This Communication takes stock of progress achieved towards visa reciprocity with the United States since December 2017.

Official

European Commission: Press Release, 19/12/2018: Visa non-reciprocity: Commission takes stock of progress and developments http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-18-6821_en.htm

European Commission: Fact Sheet, 19/12/2018: EU visa reciprocity mechanism [Q&A] http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-18-6822_en.htm

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