# EUR-Lex - 52012PC0560 - EN

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# 52012PC0560

**Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Cape Verde on facilitating the issue of short-stay visas to citizens of the Republic of Cape Verde and of the European Union /* COM/2012/0560 final - 2012/0271 (NLE) */**

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

1.           Political and legal background

Relations between the European Union and
Cape Verde are governed by the revised ACP-EC Partnership Agreement signed on
23 June 2005. The revised Agreement entered into force on 1 July 2008 as regards
Cape Verde.

During the early years of the twenty-first
century, Cape Verde’s government and civil society expressed the wish on a
number of occasions to deepen and extend their relations with the European
Union.

On 24 October 2007, therefore, the Commission
adopted a communication to the Council and to the European Parliament on the
future of EU-Cape Verde relations in which it acknowledged the special and
strong historical relations existing between the two parties, based on close
human and cultural links and shared socio-political values. Cape Verde, like
the European Union, embraces the values and principles of democracy and good
governance and upholds human rights and the rule of law. The high standards and
practices in the field of governance in which Cape Verde can justly be proud
fully justify the further development of its relationship with the European
Union. An annex to the communication set out a proposal for an action plan.

The General Affairs and External Relations
Council of 19 and 20 November 2007 approved conclusions supporting the
communication, the introduction of a special partnership between the EU and
Cape Verde and the action plan for implementing it as proposed by the
Commission. The ‘Special Partnership’ aims at strengthening political dialogue,
policy convergence and cooperation between the two parties in new, sensitive
sectors, going beyond the traditional donor-beneficiary relationship and
creating a framework of mutual interests.

The action plan is based on the following
priorities: good governance, security and stability, regional integration,
transformation and modernisation, technology and standards convergence, a
knowledge-based society, development and poverty alleviation. The measures
envisaged are designed to strengthen stability and security and include
initiatives to tackle migration.

In the context of the special partnership
between the EU and Cape Verde and in the light of the Council conclusions of 10
December 2007 on mobility partnerships and circular migration in the framework
of the global approach to migration, a joint declaration on a mobility
partnership between the European Union and Cape Verde was signed on 5 June
2008 and launched on 28 July 2008. At points 5 and 12 of the declaration,
the two parties undertook to develop a dialogue on short-stay visa matters and
on questions of readmission. At points 3(i) and 6(v) of the annex to the
declaration, the Commission further undertook to submit recommendations to the
Council with a view to obtaining directives for negotiating agreements with
Cape Verde on facilitating the issue of short-stay visas and on readmission.

Based on the above, on 14 November 2008 the
Commission submitted a recommendation to the Council asking for its
authorisation to open negotiations with Cape Verde on an agreement to
facilitate the issue of short-stay visas to citizens of the Republic of Cape
Verde and of the European Union, and on readmission.

Following the authorisation given by the
Council on 4 June 2009, negotiations with Cape Verde on the agreement to
facilitate the issue of short-stay visas to citizens of the Republic of Cape
Verde and of the European Union started in Brussels on 13 July 2009. A
second round of negotiations took place on 22 November 2011. Four
technical meetings also took place: on 4 and 5 February 2010 in Praia and on 12
October 2010, 30 May and 13 September 2011 in Brussels. The negotiations were
concluded in April 2012.

The final text of the Agreement was
initialled in Brussels on 24 April 2012 in the presence of José Manuel
Barroso, President of the European Commission, and José Maria Neves, Prime
Minister of Cape Verde.

Member States have been regularly informed
and consulted in the relevant Council working groups at all stages of the
negotiations.

On the part of the Union, the legal basis
for the Agreement is Article 77(2)(a), in conjunction with Article 218, of the
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

The Commission signed the Agreement on ...
. In accordance with Article 218(6)(a) of the TFEU the European Parliament's
consent for the conclusion of the Agreement was given on ... The attached
proposal constitutes the legal instrument for the conclusion of the Agreement.
The Council will decide by qualified majority.

The proposed decision concerning the
conclusion of the Agreement sets out the necessary internal arrangements for
the practical application of the Agreement. In particular, it specifies that
the Commission, assisted by experts from Member States, will represent the
Union within the Joint Committee set up by Article 10 of the Agreement. Under
Article 10(4), the Joint Committee may adopt its own rules of procedure. The
Union position in this regard is to be established by the Commission in
consultation with a special committee designated by the Council. As regards
other decisions to be taken by the Joint Committee, the Union position is to be
established in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Treaty.

2.           Outcome of negotiations

The Commission considers that the
objectives set by the Council in its negotiating directives have been attained
and that the draft Agreement is acceptable to the Union.

The final content of the Agreement can be
summarised as follows:

-           the introduction of simplified
criteria for issuing multiple-entry visas for the following categories of
persons:

(a) members of national and regional
governments and parliaments, constitutional courts, supreme courts and courts
of auditors, permanent members of official delegations, business people and
representatives of business organisations, spouses, children who are under the
age of 21 or are dependent, and parents of citizens of Cape Verde or of the
European Union legally residing in the other Party or residing in Cape Verde or
in the country of their nationality: in principle, multiple-entry visas valid
for five years are to be issued. Multiple-entry visas with a shorter period of
validity will be issued only where the expiry date of the travel document
requires this or where the need or the intention to travel frequently or
regularly is manifestly limited to a shorter period;

(b) representatives of civil society
organisations, practitioners of a liberal profession, persons taking part in
scientific, cultural and artistic activities, participants in international
sports events and persons accompanying them in a professional capacity,
journalists and accredited persons accompanying them in a professional
capacity, school pupils, students and accompanying teachers, representatives of
religious organisations recognised in Cape Verde or in the Member States, and
persons visiting regularly for medical reasons; participants in official
exchange programmes organised by twinned towns or municipal authorities; and
members of official delegations: in principle, multiple-entry visas valid for
one year are to be issued. Multiple-entry visas with a shorter period of
validity will be issued only where the expiry date of the travel document
requires this or where the need or the intention to travel frequently or
regularly is manifestly limited to a shorter period. Multiple-entry visas that
are valid for at least two years and at most five years will be issued provided
that during the previous two years the applicant has made good use of a
one-year multiple-entry visas and that the need or intention to travel
frequently or regularly is not clearly limited to a shorter stay;

-           waiving of visa processing fees
for certain categories of person: members of official delegations, children
under 12, school pupils, students, researchers, participants aged 25 years or
less in seminars, conferences or sports, cultural or educational events,
organised by non-profit organisations;

-           the possibility for an external
service provider with whom Cape Verde or a Member State cooperates with a view
to the issue of a visa to charge a service fee of up to EUR 30, while
maintaining the possibility for all applicants to lodge their applications
directly at a consulate;

-           the extension, free of charge,
of visas of citizens of Cape Verde and the European Union who are unable to
leave the territory of the Member States or Cape Verde respectively by the date
indicated in their visas for reasons of force majeure;

-           the exemption from the visa
requirement for short stays for citizens of Cape Verde and of the European
Union who are holders of diplomatic or service passports. A joint declaration
states that each party may invoke suspension of the provision relating to visa
waiver for holders of diplomatic or service passports (Article 8), if the
implementation of this provision is abused by the other party or poses a threat
to public security. The declaration also provides that, as a priority, Cape
Verde and the European Union must undertake to ensure a high level of security
for diplomatic and service passports, in particular by integrating biometric
identifiers;

-           the possibility for citizens of
Cape Verde and of the European Union who have lost their identity documents, or
from whom these document have been stolen while staying in the territory of the
host State, to leave the territory of Cape Verde or of the Member States on the
basis of valid identity documents without any visa or other authorisation;

-           at Cape Verde’s specific
request, no provision has been included on simplified requirements for
documents to be presented regarding the purpose of the journey;

-           the establishment of a joint
committee for managing the Agreement;

-           provisions governing the entry
into force, duration, amendment, suspension and termination of the Agreement;
since the agreements on facilitating the issue of short-stay visas and on
readmission are linked, they should enter into force simultaneously;

-           a protocol has been concluded
stating that, in accordance with Decision No 582/2008/EC of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008[1], harmonised measures have been
taken in order to simplify the transit of holders of Schengen visas and
Schengen residence permits through the territory of the Member States not yet
fully applying the Schengen acquis;

-           a joint declaration on the
harmonisation of information on procedures for issuing short-stay visas and
documents to be submitted when applying for short-stay visas;

-           a joint declaration on
cooperation on travel documents and the regular exchange of information on
document security;

-           the specific situations of
Denmark, the United Kingdom and Ireland are reflected in the preamble and in
two joint declarations attached to the Agreement. The close association of
Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the implementation,
application and development of the Schengen acquis is likewise reflected
in a joint declaration to the Agreement.

3.           Conclusion

In light of the above-mentioned results,
the Commission proposes that the Council:

-           approve, after obtaining the
consent of the European Parliament, the attached Agreement between the European
Union and the Republic of Cape Verde on facilitating the issue of short-stay
visas to citizens of the Republic of Cape Verde and of the European Union.

2012/0271 (NLE)

Proposal for a

COUNCIL DECISION

on the conclusion of the Agreement between
the European Union and the Republic of Cape Verde on facilitating the issue of
short-stay visas to citizens of the Republic of Cape Verde and of the European
Union

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the
Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 77(2a), in
conjunction with Article 218(6)(a), thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the
European Commission,

Having regard to the consent of the
European Parliament[2],

Whereas:

(1)       In accordance with Council
Decision 2012/XXX of [...][3],
the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Cape Verde on
facilitating the issue of short-stay visas to citizens of the Republic of Cape
Verde and of the European Union (hereinafter ‘the Agreement’) was signed by the
Commission on [ ], subject to its conclusion at a later date.

(2)       The Agreement should be
concluded.

(3)       The Agreement establishes
a Joint Committee which may adopt its rules of procedure. Provision should be
made for a simplified procedure for establishing the Union position in this
regard.

(4)       This Decision constitutes
a development of the provisions of the Schengen acquis in which the
United Kingdom does not take part, in accordance with Council Decision 2000/365/EC
of 29 May 2000 concerning the request of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland to take part in some of the provisions of the Schengen acquis[4]; the United Kingdom is
therefore not taking part in its adoption and is not bound by it or subject to
its application.

(5)       This Decision constitutes
a development of the provisions of the Schengen acquis in which Ireland
does not take part, in accordance with Council Decision 2002/192/EC
of 28 February 2002 concerning Ireland's request to take part in some
of the provisions of the Schengen acquis[5];
Ireland is therefore not taking part in its adoption and is not bound by it or
subject to its application.

(6)       In accordance with
Articles 1 and 2 of the Protocol (No 22) on the position of Denmark, annexed to
the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the
European Union, Denmark is not taking part in the adoption of this Decision and
is not bound by it or subject to its application,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

The Agreement between the European Union
and the Republic of Cape Verde on facilitating the issue of short-stay visas to
citizens of the Republic of Cape Verde and of the European Union is hereby
approved on behalf of the European Union.

The text of the Agreement is attached to
this Decision.

Article 2

The
President of the Council shall designate the person empowered to make, on
behalf of the European Union, the notification provided for in Article 12(1) of
the Agreement, in order to express the consent of the European Union to be
bound by the Agreement[6].

Article 3

The
Commission, assisted by experts from Member States, shall represent the Union
in the Joint Committee established by Article 10 of the Agreement.

Article 4

The position
of the Union within the Joint Committee with regard to the adoption of its
rules of procedure as required under Article 10(4) of the Agreement shall be
taken by the Commission after consultation with a special committee designated
by the Council.

Article 5

This
Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption.

Done at Brussels,

For
the Council

The
President

ANNEX

AGREEMENT

between

the
European Union and the Republic of Cape Verde

on
facilitating the issue of short-stay visas

to
citizens of the Republic of Cape Verde and of the European Union

THE EUROPEAN UNION, hereinafter referred to
as ‘the Union’,

and

THE REPUBLIC OF CAPE VERDE, hereinafter
referred to as ‘Cape Verde’,

Hereinafter referred to as ‘the Parties’,

wishing to
promote contacts between their peoples as an important factor in ensuring the
constant development of economic, humanitarian, cultural, scientific and other
ties by facilitating the issue of visas to their citizens on the basis of
reciprocity,

having regard to the Joint Declaration of 5 June 2008 on a Mobility Partnership
between the European Union and Cape Verde, in accordance with which the Parties
are to take steps to develop a dialogue on matters relating to short-stay
visas, with a view to facilitating the mobility of certain categories of people,

recalling
the Cotonou Partnership Agreement and the special partnership between the
European Union and Cape Verde, approved by the Council of the European Union on
19 November 2007,

recognising
that this should not encourage illegal immigration and paying special attention
to security and readmission,

taking into account the Protocol on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland in
respect of the area of freedom, security and justice, annexed to the Treaty on
European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and
confirming that the provisions of this Agreement do not apply to the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland or to Ireland,

taking into account the Protocol on the position of Denmark annexed to the Treaty on
European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and
confirming that the provisions of this Agreement do not apply to the Kingdom of
Denmark,

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Subject matter and scope

The purpose of this Agreement is to
facilitate, on the basis of reciprocity, the issue of visas to citizens of Cape
Verde and the European Union for an intended stay of no more than 90 days per
period of 180 days.

Article 2

General clause

1.         The measures to facilitate the
issue of visas set out in this Agreement shall apply to citizens of Cape Verde
and the European Union only in so far as they are not exempt from visa
requirements under the laws and regulations of the European Union or its Member
States or of Cape Verde, or under the present Agreement or other international
agreements.

2.         The national law of Cape Verde
and of the Member States or the law of the Union shall apply to matters not
covered by the provisions of this Agreement, such as refusal to issue a visa,
recognition of travel documents, proof of sufficient means of subsistence,
refusal of entry and expulsion measures.

Article 3

Definitions

For the purposes of this Agreement:

(a)        ‘Member State’ shall mean any
Member State of the European Union, with the exception of the Kingdom of
Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland;

(b)        ‘European Union citizen’ shall
mean any national of a Member State as defined in point (a);

(c)        ‘citizen of Cape Verde’ shall
mean any person with Cape Verde citizenship;

(d)        ‘visa’ shall mean an
authorisation issued or a decision taken by a Member State or by Cape Verde
which is required with a view to entering, for transit purposes or for an
intended stay of no more than 90 days in total, the territory of that Member
State or of several Member States or the territory of Cape Verde;

(e)        ‘legal resident’ shall mean:

in the case of the European Union, any
citizen of Cape Verde authorised or entitled to stay for more than 90 days in
the territory of a Member State, on the basis of Union or national legislation.

in the case of Cape Verde, any citizen of
the European Union, as defined in point (b), holding a residence permit in
accordance with national legislation.

Article 4

Issue of multiple-entry visas

1.         Diplomatic missions and consular
posts of the Member States and of Cape Verde shall issue multiple-entry visas
valid for five years to the following categories of citizen:

(a) members of national and regional
governments and parliaments, constitutional courts, supreme courts or courts of
auditors, if they are not exempt from visa requirements under this Agreement,
in the exercise of their duties;

(b) permanent members of official
delegations who, following an official invitation addressed to Cape Verde, the
Member States or the European Union, take part in meetings, consultations,
negotiations or exchange programmes, or in events in the territory of the
Member States or Cape Verde organised on the initiative of intergovernmental
organisations;

(c) business people and company
representatives who regularly travel to the Member States or to Cape Verde;

(d) spouses, children (including adopted
children) who are under the age of 21 or are dependent, and relatives visiting
either:

- citizens of Cape Verde legally resident in
the territory of a Member State or citizens of the European Union legally
resident in Cape Verde, or

- citizens of the European Union resident
in the Member State of their nationality, or citizens of Cape Verde resident in
Cape Verde.

However, if the need or intention to travel
frequently or regularly is clearly limited to a shorter stay, the validity of
the multiple-entry visa shall be limited to this stay, in particular where

- the term of office, in the case of those
covered by point (a) above,

- the term of office of a permanent member
of an official delegation, in the case of those covered by point (b) above,

- the duration of the positions as business
people and company representatives, in the case of those covered by point (c)
above, or

- the duration of the residence permits
issued to Cape Verde citizens residing in the territory of a Member State and
European Union citizens residing in Cape Verde, in the case of those covered by
point (d) above,

is less than five years.

2.         Diplomatic missions and consular
posts of the Member States and Cape Verde shall issue multiple-entry visas
valid for one year to the following categories of citizens, provided that
during the previous year they have obtained at least one visa and that they
have made use of it in accordance with the laws on entry and residence in the
territory of the State in question:

(a) representatives of civil society
organisations travelling regularly to Member States or to Cape Verde for the
purposes of educational training or to take part in seminars and conferences,
including as part of exchange programmes;

(b) practitioners of a liberal profession
taking part in international exhibitions, conferences, symposia, seminars or
other similar events who regularly travel to the Member States or to Cape
Verde;

(c) persons taking part in scientific,
cultural and artistic activities, including university and other exchange
programmes, who regularly travel to the Member States or to Cape Verde;

(d) participants in international sports
events and persons accompanying them in a professional capacity;

(e) journalists and accredited persons
accompanying them in a professional capacity;

(f) school pupils, students, post-graduate
students and accompanying teachers who undertake trips for the purposes of study
or educational training, including exchange programmes and other school-related
activities;

(g) representatives of religious
organisations recognised in Cape Verde or in the Member States who regularly
travel to the Member States or to Cape Verde;

(h) persons visiting regularly for medical
reasons;

(i) participants in official exchange
programmes organised by twinned towns or municipal authorities;

(j) members of official delegations who,
following an official invitation addressed to Cape Verde, the Member States or
the European Union, regularly take part in meetings, consultations,
negotiations or exchange programmes, and in events in the territory of the
Member States or of Cape Verde organised on the initiative of intergovernmental
organisations.

However, if the need or intention to travel
frequently or regularly is clearly limited to a shorter stay, the validity of
the multiple-entry visa shall be limited to the length of this stay.

3.         Diplomatic missions and consular
posts of the Member States and of Cape Verde shall issue multiple-entry visas
that are valid for at least two years and at most five years to citizens in the
categories referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article provided that during the
previous two years they have made use of a one-year multiple-entry visas in
accordance with the laws on entry and residence in the territory of the host
State.

However, if the need or intention to travel
frequently or regularly is clearly limited to a shorter stay, the validity of
the multiple-entry visa shall be limited to the length of this stay.

4.         The total period of residence of
the persons referred to in paragraphs 1 to 3 of this Article shall not exceed
90 days per period of 180 days in the territory of the Member States or of Cape
Verde.

Article 5

Visa fees and service charges

1.         Without prejudice to the
provisions of paragraph 2, the Member States or Cape Verde shall not collect
visa fees from the following categories of people:

(a) members of official delegations who,
following an official invitation addressed to Cape Verde, the Member States or
the European Union, take part in meetings, consultations, negotiations or
official exchange programmes, or in events in the territory of the Member
States or of Cape Verde organised by intergovernmental organisations;

(b) children under 12 years of age;

(c) school pupils, students, postgraduate
students and accompanying teachers travelling for study or educational
purposes;

(d) researchers travelling for the purposes
of scientific research;

(e) participants no older than 25 years of
age taking part in seminars, conferences or sports, cultural or educational
events organised by non-profit organisations.

2.         Where the Member States or Cape
Verde cooperate with an external service provider, service charges may be
collected. The service charge shall be proportionate to the costs incurred by
the external service provider in the performance of the tasks, and shall not
exceed EUR 30. Cape Verde and the Member State or States concerned shall
maintain the possibility for all applicants to lodge their applications
directly at its/their consulates.

Article 6

Departure in the case of lost or stolen documents

Citizens of Cape Verde and of the European
Union who have lost their identity documents, or from whom these document have
been stolen while staying in the territory of the Member States or of Cape
Verde, may leave that territory on the basis of valid identity documents
entitling them to cross the border issued by diplomatic missions or consular
posts of the Member States or of Cape Verde without any visa or other
authorisation.

Article 7

Extension of visa in exceptional circumstances

Citizens of Cape Verde and the European
Union who are unable to leave the territory of the Member States or Cape Verde
respectively by the date indicated in their visas for reasons of force majeure
shall have their visas extended free of charge in accordance with the
legislation applied by the host State for the period necessary for their return
to their State of residence.

Article 8

Diplomatic and service passports

1.         Citizens of Cape Verde or the
Member States who are holders of valid diplomatic or service passports can
enter, leave and transit through the territories of the Member States or Cape
Verde without visas.

2.         The citizens referred to in
paragraph 1 of this Article may stay in the territories of the Member States or
Cape Verde for a period not exceeding 90 days per period of 180 days.

Article 9

Territorial validity of visas

Subject to the national rules and
regulations concerning national security applied by the Member States and Cape
Verde, and subject to EU rules on visas with limited territorial validity,
citizens of Cape Verde and the European Union shall be entitled to travel
within the territory of the Member States and Cape Verde under the same
conditions as Cape Verde and European Union citizens respectively.

Article 10

Joint Committee for the management of the Agreement

1.         The Parties shall establish a
Joint Committee to manage the Agreement (hereinafter ‘the Committee’) consisting
of representatives of the Union and of Cape Verde. The Union shall be
represented on the Committee by the European Commission, assisted by experts
from the Member States.

2.         The Committee shall, in
particular, have the following tasks:

(a)        monitoring the implementation of
the Agreement;

(b)        proposing amendments or
additions to the Agreement;

(c)        settling disputes arising from
the interpretation or application of the provisions in the Agreement.

3.         The Committee shall meet
whenever necessary at the request of either of the Parties and at least once a
year.

4.         The Committee shall lay down its
own rules of procedure.

Article 11

Relationship between this Agreement and agreements
between the Member States and Cape Verde

From its entry into force, this Agreement
shall take precedence over the provisions of any bilateral or multilateral
agreements or arrangements concluded between Member States and Cape Verde, in
so far as the provisions of those agreements or arrangements relate to matters
that are dealt with by this Agreement.

Article 12

Final clauses

1.         This Agreement shall be ratified
or approved by the Parties in accordance with their respective procedures and
shall enter into force on the first day of the second month following the date
on which the Parties notify each other that the procedures referred to above
have been completed.

2.         By way of derogation from
paragraph 1 of this Article, this Agreement shall enter into force only on the
date of the entry into force of the Agreement on readmission between the
European Union and Cape Verde if that date is after the date provided for in
paragraph 1 of this Article.

3.         This Agreement is concluded for
an indefinite period, unless terminated in accordance with paragraph 6 of this
Article.

4.         This Agreement may be amended by
written agreement of the Parties. Amendments shall enter into force after the
Parties have notified each other of the completion of their internal procedures
necessary for this purpose.

5.         Either Party may suspend this
Agreement in whole or in part for reasons of public order, protection of
national security or protection of public health. The decision on suspension
shall be notified to the other Party not later than 48 hours before its entry
into force. The Party that has suspended the application of this Agreement
shall immediately inform the other Party once the reasons for the suspension no
longer apply.

6.         Either Party may terminate this
Agreement by giving written notice to the other Party. The Agreement shall
cease to apply 90 days after the date of receipt of such notification.

Done at Brussels on
24 April 2012, in duplicate in the Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch,
English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian,
Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish
and Swedish languages, each of these texts being equally authentic.

For the European Union || For the Republic of Cape Verde

PROTOCOL
TO THE AGREEMENT ON THE MEMBER STATES THAT DO NOT FULLY APPLY THE SCHENGEN ACQUIS

The Member States which are bound by the
Schengen acquis but which do not yet issue Schengen visas pending the
relevant Council decision to that end, shall issue national visas the validity
of which is limited to their own territory.

In accordance with Decision No 582/2008/EC
of the European Parliament and of the Council, harmonised measures have been
taken in order to simplify the transit of holders of Schengen visas and
Schengen residence permits through the territory of the Member States not yet
fully applying the Schengen acquis.

JOINT
DECLARATION ON ARTICLE 8 OF THE AGREEMENT CONCERNING DIPLOMATIC AND SERVICE
PASSPORTS

Either Party may invoke a partial
suspension of the Agreement and in particular of Article 8, in accordance with
the procedure set out in Article 12(5), if the implementation of Article 8
leads to abuse by the other Party or to a threat to public security.

If the implementation of Article 8 is
suspended, the two Parties shall initiate consultations in the framework of the
Committee set up by the Agreement with a view to solving the problems that led
to the suspension.

As a priority, both Parties undertake to
ensure a high level of security for diplomatic and service passports, in
particular by integrating biometric identifiers. For the European Union, this
will be ensured in accordance with the requirements set out in Regulation (EC)
No 2252/2004.

JOINT
DECLARATION ON THE HARMONISATION OF INFORMATION ON PROCEDURES FOR ISSUING
SHORT-STAY VISAS AND ON THE DOCUMENTS TO BE SUBMITTED WHEN APPLYING FOR
SHORT-STAY VISAS

Recognising the importance of transparency
for visa applicants, the Parties consider that appropriate measures should be
taken:

-           in general, to draw up a list
of basic information for applicants on the procedures and conditions for applying
for visas, on the visas themselves and on the validity of the visas issued;

-           in the case of each Party, to
draw up a list of minimum requirements in order to ensure that applicants are
given basic, coherent and uniform information and are required to submit, in
principle, the same supporting documents.

The information mentioned above is to be
disseminated widely (on the information board of consulates, in leaflets, on
the Internet, etc.).

JOINT
DECLARATION CONCERNING THE KINGDOM OF DENMARK

The Parties take note that the present
Agreement does not apply to the procedures for issuing visas by the diplomatic
missions and consular posts of the Kingdom of Denmark.

It is therefore desirable that the
authorities of Denmark and of Cape Verde should conclude, without delay, a
bilateral agreement on facilitating the issue of short-stay visas, in terms
similar to those in the Agreement between the European Union and Cape Verde.

JOINT
DECLARATION CONCERNING IRELAND AND THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN
IRELAND

The Parties take note that the present
Agreement does not apply to the territory of Ireland or of the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

It is therefore desirable that the
authorities of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,
Ireland and Cape Verde should conclude bilateral agreements on facilitating the
issue of visas.

JOINT
DECLARATION CONCERNING THE REPUBLIC OF ICELAND, THE KINGDOM OF NORWAY, THE
SWISS CONFEDERATION AND LIECHTENSTEIN

The Parties take note of the close
relationship between the European Union and the Republic of Iceland, the
Kingdom of Norway, the Swiss Confederation and Liechtenstein, particularly by
virtue of the Agreements of 18 May 1999 and 26 October 2004 concerning the
association of these countries with the implementation, application and
development of the Schengen acquis.

It is therefore desirable that the
authorities of the Republic of Iceland, the Kingdom of Norway, the Swiss
Confederation, Liechtenstein and Cape Verde should conclude, without delay,
bilateral agreements on facilitating the issue of short-stay visas, in terms
similar to those set out in this Agreement.

JOINT
DECLARATION ON COOPERATION ON TRAVEL DOCUMENTS

The Parties agree that when monitoring the
implementation of the Agreement, the Joint Committee established under Article
11 should evaluate the impact of the level of security of the respective travel
documents on the functioning of the Agreement. To that end, the Parties agree
to regularly inform each other about the measures taken for avoiding the
proliferation of travel documents, for developing the technical aspects of
travel document security, and regarding the personalisation process in the
issue of travel documents.

[1]               OJ L 161, 20.6.2008, p. 30.

[2]               OJ

[3]               OJ

[4]               OJ L 131, 1.6.2000, p. 43.

[5]               OJ L 64, 7.3.2002, p. 20.

[6]               The date of entry into force of the Agreement will be
published in the Official Journal of the European Union by the General
Secretariat of the Council.