Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement

In proposing this amendment to Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 as last amended by Regulation (EU) No 1211/2010, the Commission is pursuing the objective of adjusting the annexes to the Regulation, taking into consideration the progress made by the Republic of Moldova in its visa liberalisation dialogue during the last three years, and transferring this country from Annex I (the list of third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders of Member States) to Annex II (the list of those third countries whose nationals are exempt from that requirement) of the Regulation.

This transfer is in line with the political commitment taken by the European Union in the Joint Declaration approved at the Prague Eastern Partnership Summit on 7 May 2009, underlying the importance of citizens' mobility and visa liberalization in a safe environment. The EU committed to undertake gradual steps towards full long-term visa liberalisation for partner countries, provided that conditions for well-managed and secure mobility are in place.

In the Joint Declaration on the occasion of the EU-Republic of Moldova Cooperation Council meeting on 21 December 2009, it was agreed to launch a dialogue examining the conditions for future visa-free travel of Moldovan citizens to the EU.

EUR-Lex: COM(2013)853: Follow the progress of this proposal through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2013:853:FIN

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