DECISION No 896/2006/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
of 14 June 2006
establishing a simplified regime for the control of persons at the external borders based on the unilateral recognition by the Member States of certain residence permits issued by Switzerland and Liechtenstein for the purpose of transit through their territory
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 62(2)(a) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty (1),
Whereas:
(1)
Pursuant to Article 21 of the Convention of 19 June 1990 implementing the Schengen Agreement of 14 June 1985 between the Governments of the States of the Benelux Economic Union, the Federal Republic of Germany and the French Republic on the gradual abolition of checks at their common borders (2) (hereinafter referred to as the Schengen Convention) residence permits issued by Member States fully implementing the Schengen acquis are to be mutually recognised as equivalent to the uniform visa.
(2)
The current Community rules do not, however, provide for a simplified regime for the control of persons at the external borders whereby the residence permits issued by third countries would be recognised as equivalent to the uniform visa for the purpose of transit through, or a short stay in, the common area.
(3)
Third-country nationals who hold a resident permit issued by Switzerland and who are subject to a visa obligation under Council Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 of 15 March 2001 listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders and those who are nationals are exempt from that requirement (3) must apply for a visa when they transit the common area on return to their country of origin. As a result, the consular offices of the Member States in Switzerland have to deal with large numbers of visa applications submitted by such third-country nationals. Similar difficulties have occurred as regards applications for visas by holders of residence permits issued by Liechtenstein.
(4)
As a result of the two-step implementation of the Schengen acquis, new Member States that acceded to the European Union on 1 May 2004 are required, from that date, to issue national visas to third-country nationals who hold a residence permit issued by Switzerland and Liechtenstein and who are subject to a visa obligation pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 539/2001. Some of the new Member States have voiced concerns as to the additional administrative burden this will place on their consulates in Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
(5)
It does not appear necessary for Member States to require this category of persons to hold a visa, as they represent a low risk of illegal immigration for the Member States.
(6)
In order to address the situation in the consular offices in Switzerland and Liechtenstein both of Member States fully implementing the Schengen acquis and of new Member States, a simplified regime should be introduced for the control of persons at the external borders based on the unilateral recognition of certain residence permits issued by the authorities of Switzerland and Liechtenstein as equivalent to uniform or national visas.
(7)
Such recognition should be limited to the purpose of transit and should not affect the possibility of Member States to issue visas for a short-term stay.
(8)
Application of the recognition regime should be compulsory for Member States fully implementing the Schengen acquis and optional for new Member States that apply Decision No 895/2006/EC of the European Parliament and Council of 14 June 2006 introducing a simplified regime for the control of persons at the external borders based on the unilateral recognition by the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia of certain documents as equivalent to their national visas for the purposes of transit through their territories (4) during the transitional period until the date to be determined by the Council, in accordance with the first subparagraph of Article 3(2) of the 2003 Act of Accession.
(9)
The entry conditions laid down in Article 5(1) of Regulation (EC) No 562/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2006 establishing a Community Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders (Schengen Borders Code) (5) have to be fulfilled, with the exception of the condition laid down in Article 5(1)(b) thereof, in so far as this Decision sets up an equivalence regime between transit visas and residence permits issued by Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
(10)
Since the objective of this Decision directly affects the Community acquis on visas and cannot be achieved sufficiently by the Member States and can therefore, by reason of the scale and effects of this Decision, be better achieved at Community level, the Community may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Decision does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective.
(11)
As regards Iceland and Norway, this Decision constitutes a development of the provisions of the Schengen acquis within the meaning of the Agreement concluded by the Council of the European Union and the Republic of Iceland and the Kingdom of Norway concerning those two States' association with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis, which fall within the area referred to in Article 1 point (A) of Council Decision 1999/437/EC (6) on certain arrangements for the application of that Agreement.
(12)
In accordance with Articles 1 and 2 of the Protocol on the position of Denmark annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Denmark is not taking part in the adoption by the Council of this Decision and is not bound by it or subject to its application. Given that this Decision builds upon the Schengen acquis under the provisions of Title IV of Part Three of the Treaty establishing the European Community, Denmark has, in accordance with Article 5 of the said Protocol, to decide within a period of six months after the date of adoption of this Decision whether it will implement it in its national law.
(13)
This Decision constitutes a development of 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 (7). The United Kingdom is therefore not taking part in its adoption and is not bound by it or subject to its application.
(14)
This Decision constitutes a development of 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 (8). Ireland is therefore not taking part in its adoption and is not bound by it or subject to its application,
HAVE ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
This Decision establishes a simplified regime for the control of persons at the external borders based on the unilateral recognition by Member States of residence permits issued by Switzerland and Liechtenstein to third-country nationals subject to a visa obligation pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 as equivalent to their uniform or national visas for the purpose of transit.
The implementation of this Decision shall not affect the checks to be carried out on persons at the external borders in compliance with Articles 5 to 13 and 18 to 19 of Regulation (EC) No 562/2006.
Article 2
Member States fully implementing the Schengen acquis shall unilaterally recognise the residence permits issued by Switzerland and Liechtenstein which are listed in the Annex.
New Member States which apply Decision No 895/2006/EC may unilaterally recognise the residence permits listed in the Annex to this Decision as equivalent to their national transit visas until the date to be determined by the Council, in accordance with the first subparagraph of Article 3(2) of the 2003 Act of Accession.
Article 3
The duration of the transit of the third-country national through the territory of the Member State(s) shall not exceed five days.
The period of validity of the documents listed in the Annex shall cover the duration of the transit.
Article 4
Any new Member State that decides to apply this Decision shall notify the Commission thereof by 1 August 2006. The Commission shall publish the information communicated by the new Member States in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Article 5
This Decision shall enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
It shall apply until the date on which the provisions of Article 21 of the Schengen Convention take effect for Switzerland and Liechtenstein pursuant to Article 15 of the Agreement between the European Union, the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on the Swiss Confederation's association with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis.
Article 6
This Decision is addressed to the Member States in accordance with the Treaty establishing the European Community.
Done at Strasbourg, 14 June 2006.