Regulation 2009/1244 - Amendment of 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 - Main contents
Please note
This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
Contents
official title
Council Regulation (EC) No 1244/2009 of 30 November 2009 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| Legal instrument | Regulation |
|---|---|
| Number legal act | Regulation 2009/1244 |
| Original proposal | COM(2009)366  |
| CELEX number i | 32009R1244 |
| Document | 30-11-2009 |
|---|---|
| Publication in Official Journal | 18-12-2009; Special edition in Croatian: Chapter 19 Volume 010,OJ L 336, 18.12.2009 |
| Effect | 19-12-2009; Entry into force Date pub. + 1 See Art 2 |
| End of validity | 17-12-2018; Repealed by 32018R1806 |
18.12.2009 |
EN |
Official Journal of the European Union |
L 336/1 |
COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 1244/2009
of 30 November 2009
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
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 62(2)(b)(i) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (1),
Whereas:
(1) |
The composition of the lists of third countries in Annexes I and II to Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 (2) should be, and should remain, consistent with the criteria laid down in recital 5 thereto. Some third countries, for which the situation has changed as regards these criteria, should be transferred from one Annex to the other. |
(2) |
With five Western Balkan countries — Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia — Visa Facilitation Agreements entered into force on 1 January 2008, as a first concrete step forward along the path set out by the Thessaloniki agenda towards a visa-free travel regime for the citizens of Western Balkan countries. With each of these countries, a visa liberalisation dialogue was opened in 2008 and roadmaps for visa liberalisation have been established. In its assessment of the implementation of the roadmaps of May 2009, the Commission considered that the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia had met all the benchmarks set out in its roadmap and, in its assessment of November 2009, that Montenegro and Serbia also meet all the benchmarks set out in their respective roadmaps. |
(3) |
Therefore the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia should be transferred to Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 539/2001. The visa requirement exemption should only apply to holders of biometric passports issued by each of the three countries concerned. |
(4) |
For persons residing in Kosovo as defined by the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 of 10 June 1999 (referred to as Kosovo (UNSCR 1244)) and persons whose citizenship certificate has been issued for the territory of Kosovo (UNSCR 1244), a specific Coordination Directorate in Belgrade will be in charge of collecting their passport applications and the issuance of passports. However, in view of security concerns regarding in particular the potential for illegal migration, the holders of Serbian passports issued by that specific Coordination Directorate should be excluded from the visa-free regime for Serbia. |
(5) |
For reasons of legal clarity and security, and in accordance with Article 1(3) of Regulation (EC) No 539/2001, Kosovo (UNSCR 1244) should be added to Annex I to that Regulation. This is without prejudice to the status of Kosovo (UNSCR 1244). |
(6) |
As regards Iceland and Norway, this Regulation constitutes a development of provisions of the Schengen acquis within the meaning of the Agreement concluded between the Council of the European Union and the Republic of Iceland and the Kingdom of Norway concerning the latters’ association with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis (3) which fall within the area referred to in Article 1, point B, of Council Decision 1999/437/EC of 17 May 1999 on certain arrangements for the application of that Agreement (4). |
(7) |
As regards Switzerland, this Regulation constitutes a development of the provisions of the Schengen acquis within the meaning of the Agreement concluded between the European Union, the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on the Swiss Confederation’s association with the implementation, application... |
More
This text has been adopted from EUR-Lex.
This dossier is compiled each night drawing from aforementioned sources through automated processes. We have invested a great deal in optimising the programming underlying these processes. However, we cannot guarantee the sources we draw our information from nor the resulting dossier are without fault.
This page is also available in a full version containing the legal context, de Europese rechtsgrond, other dossiers related to the dossier at hand and the related cases of the European Court of Justice.
The full version is available for registered users of the EU Monitor by ANP and PDC Informatie Architectuur.
The EU Monitor enables its users to keep track of the European process of lawmaking, focusing on the relevant dossiers. It automatically signals developments in your chosen topics of interest. Apologies to unregistered users, we can no longer add new users.This service will discontinue in the near future.