AGREEMENT
betweentheEuropeanCommunityandtheFormerYugoslavRepublicofMacedo niaonthefacilitation
of the issuance of visas
THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY, hereinafter referred to as ‘the Community’,
andTHE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA, hereinafter referred to as ‘th e Parties’,
HAVING REGARD to the European Council decision of December 2005 to grant th e former Yugoslav Republic of Mace-
donia, candidate country status,HAVINGREGARDtotheStabilisationandAssociationAgreement(SAA)betwe entheEuropeanCommunityandtheformer
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, which was signed in April 2001 and entered into force on 1 April 2004 and which cur-
rently governs the relations with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedon ia,
REAFFIRMING,theintentiontocooperatecloselywithintheframeworkoft heexistingSAAstructuresfortheliberalization
of the visa regime between the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and th e European Union, in line with the conclu-
sions of the EU-Western Balkans Summit held in Thessaloniki on 21 June 2003 ,
RECOGNISING the progress made by the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedoni a in the area of justice, freedom and secu-
rity and, in particular, on migration, visa policy, border management and on document security,
DESIRING,asafirstconcretesteptowardsthevisafreetravelregime,tof acilitatepeopletopeoplecontactsasanimportant
condition for a steady development of economic, humanitarian, cultural, scientific and other ties, by facilitating the issuing
of visas to citizens of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,BEARING IN MIND that, all EU citizens are exempted from the visa requiremen t when travelling to the former Yugoslav
RepublicofMacedoniaforaperiodoftimenotexceeding90daysortransiti ngthroughtheterritoryoftheformerYugoslav
Republic of Macedonia,RECOGNISING that if the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia was to reint roduce the visa requirement for EU citizens,
the same facilitations granted under this agreement to the citizens of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia would
automatically, on the basis of reciprocity, apply to EU citizens,RECOGNISING that visa facilitation should not lead to illegal migration a nd paying special attention to security and
readmission,TAKINGINTOACCOUNTtheProtocolonthepositionoftheUnitedKingdomandI relandandtheProtocolintegratingthe
Schengen acquisintotheframeworkoftheEuropeanUnion,annexedtotheTreatyonEuropean UnionandtheTreatyestab-
lishingtheEuropeanCommunityandconfirmingthattheprovisionsofthis agreementdonotapplytotheUnitedKingdom
and Ireland,TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the Protocol on the position of Denmark annexed to the T reaty on European Union and the
TreatyestablishingtheEuropeanCommunityandconfirmingthattheprovi sionsofthisagreementdonotapplytotheKing-
dom of Denmark,HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:
Article 1
Purpose and scope of application
1. The purpose of this Agreement is to facilitate the issuance
of visas for an intended stay of no more than 90 days per periodof 180 days to the citizens of the former Yugoslav Republic ofMacedonia.
2. If the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia was to rein-
troduce the visa requirement for EU citizens or certain categoriesofEUcitizens,thesamefacilitationsgrantedunderthisagreementto the citizens of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedoniawouldautomatically,onthebasisofreciprocity,applytoEUciti-zens concerned.
Article 2
General clause
1. ThevisafacilitationsprovidedinthisAgreementshallapplyto citizens of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia onlyinsofarastheyarenotexemptedfromthevisarequirementbythelawsandregulationsoftheCommunityortheMemberStates,thepresent agreement or other international agreements.19.12.2007
EN Official Journal of the European Union L 334/125
2. The national law of the former Yugoslav Republic of Mace-
donia, or of the Member States or Community law shall apply toissues not covered by the provisions of this Agreement, such asthe refusal to issue a visa, recognition of travel documents, proofof sufficient means of subsistence and the refusal of entry andexpulsion measures.
Article 3
Definitions
For the purpose of this Agreement:
(a) ‘MemberState’shallmeananyMemberStateoftheEuropean
Union, with the exception of the Kingdom of Denmark, the
Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom;
(b) ‘Citizen of the European Union’ shall mean a national of a
Member State as defined in point (a);
(c) ‘CitizenoftheformerYugoslavRepublicofMacedonia’:shall
meananypersonwhopossessesthecitizenshipoftheformerYugoslav Republic of Macedonia;
(d) ‘Visa’ shall mean an authorization issued by a Member State
or a decision taken by such State which is required with aview to:
— entry for an intended stay in that Member State or in
severalMemberStatesofnomorethan90daysintotal,
— entry for transit through the territory of that Member
State or several Member States;
(e) ‘legally residing person’ shall mean a citizen of the former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia authorized or entitled to
stayformorethan90daysintheterritoryofaMemberState,
on the basis of Community or national legislation.
Article 4
Documentary evidence regarding the purpose of the
journey
1. ForthefollowingcategoriesofcitizensoftheformerYugo-slav Republic of Macedonia the following documents are suffi-cient for justifying the purpose of the journey to the other Party:
(a) Pupils, high school and university students, post-graduate
studentsandaccompanyingteacherswhoundertaketripsfor
the purposes of study or educational training, including inthe framework of exchange programmes, as well as othereducational or school-related activities:
— a written request or a certificate of enrolment from the
hostuniversity,collegeorschoolorstudentcardsorcer-
tificates of the courses to be attended;(b) Personsparticipatinginscientific,research,culturalandartis-
tic activities, including university and other exchange
programmes:
— a written request from the host organisation to partici-
pate in those activities;
(c) Representativesofcivilsocietyorganisations,whenundertak-
ing trips for the purposes of educational training, seminars,
conferences, including in the framework of exchangeprogrammes:
— awrittenrequestissuedbythehostorganisation,acon-
firmation that the person is representing the civil soci-
ety organisation and the certificate on establishment ofsuchorganisationfromtherelevantRegisterissuedbyastate authority in accordance with the nationallegislation;
(d) Journalists:
— a certificate or other document issued by a professional
organization proving that the person concerned is aqualified journalist and a document issued by his/heremployer stating that the purpose of the journey is tocarry out journalistic work;
(e) Participants in international sports events and persons
accompanying them in a professional capacity:
— awrittenrequestfromthehostorganization:competent
authorities,nationalsportFederationsorNationalOlym-
pic Committees of the Member States;
(f) Business people and representatives of business
organisations:
— a written request from a host legal person or company,
oranofficeorbranchofsuchlegalpersonorcompany,
or state or local authorities of the Member States ororganising committees of trade and industrial exhibi-tions,conferencesandsymposiaheldintheterritoriesofMember States;
(g) Members of the professions participating in international
exhibitions, conferences, symposia, seminars or other simi-lar events held in the territory of the Member States:
— awrittenrequestfromthehostorganisationconfirming
that the person concerned is participating in the event;
(h) Participants in official exchange programmes organized by
twin cities:— awrittenrequestoftheheadofadministration/mayorof
these cities;L 334/126
EN Official Journal of the European Union 19.12.2007
(i) Drivers conducting international cargo and passenger trans-
portation services to the territories of the Member States in
vehicles registered in the former Yugoslav Republic ofMacedonia:
— a written request from an association of carriers of the
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia providing for
international road transportation, stating the purpose,duration and frequency of the trips;
(j) Membersoftrain,refrigeratorandlocomotivecrewsininter-
national trains travelling to the territories of the MemberStates:
— writtenrequestfromthecompetentrailwaycompanyof
the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia stating the
purpose, duration and frequency of the trips;
(k) Close relatives — spouse, children (including adopted), par-
ents (including custodians), grandparents and grandchildrenvisiting citizens of the former Yugoslav Republic of Mace-donia legally residing in the territory of the Member States:
— a written request from the host person;
(l) Representatives of the religious communities:
— awrittenrequestfromareligiouscommunityregistered
in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, stating
the purpose, duration and frequency of the trips;
(m) Personsvisitingformedicalreasonsandnecessaryaccompa-
nying persons:
— anofficialdocumentofamedicalinstitutionconfirming
the necessity of medical care in this institution, the
necessity of being accompanied and proof of sufficientfinancial means to pay for the medical treatment;
(n) Persons visiting for burial ceremonies:
— anofficialdocumentconfirmingthefactofdeathaswell
as confirmation of the family or other relationshipbetween the applicant and the buried;
(o) Members of official delegations who, following an official
invitation addressed to the former Yugoslav Republic ofMacedoniashallparticipateinmeetings,consultations,nego-tiationsorexchangeprogrammes,aswellasineventsheldin
the territory of the Member States by intergovernmentalorganisations:
— a letter issued by an authority of the former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia confirming that the applicant is
a member of its delegation, travelling to the other partyto participate at the aforementioned events, accompa-nied by a copy of the official invitation;(p) Persons travelling for tourism:
— a certificate or voucher from a travel agency or a tour
operatoraccreditedbyMemberStatesintheframework
of the local consular cooperation confirming the book-ing of an organised trip;
(q) for visiting military and civil burial grounds:
— anofficialdocumentconfirmingtheexistenceandpres-
ervation of the grave as well as family or other relation-ship between the applicant and the buried;
2. Thewrittenrequestmentionedinparagraph1ofthisArticleshall contain the following items:
(a) or the invited person: name and surname, date of birth, sex,
citizenship,numberofidentitydocument,timeandpurpose
of the journey, number of entries and where relevant thename of the spouse and children accompanying the invitedperson;
(b) for the inviting person — name, surname and address; or
(c) fortheinvitinglegalperson,companyororganisation—full
name and address and— iftherequestisissuedbyanorganisation,thenameand
position of the person who signs the request,
— iftheinvitingpersonisalegalpersonorcompanyoran
office or a branch of such legal person or company
established in the territory of a Member State, the regis-tration number as required by the national law of theMember State concerned.
3. For the categories of persons mentioned in paragraph 1 ofthis article, all categories of visa are issued according to the sim-plified procedure without requiring any other justification, invi-tation or validation concerning the purpose of the journey.
Article 5
Issuance of multiple-entry visas
1. Diplomatic missions and consular posts of the MemberStatesshallissuemultiple-entryvisaswithatermofvalidityofupto five years to the following categories of persons:
(a) Membersofnationalgovernment,Parliament,Constitutional
Court,SupremeCourt,JudiciaryCouncilandPublicProsecu-
tors Council, if they are not exempted from the visa require-ment by the present Agreement, in the exercise of theirduties,withatermofvaliditylimitedtotheirtermofofficeifthis is less than five years;
(b) Permanentmembersofofficialdelegationswhofollowingan
officialinvitationaddressedtotheformerYugoslavRepublicof Macedonia shall regularly participate in meetings, consul-tations, negotiations or exchange programmes, as well as ineventsheldintheterritoryoftheMemberStatesbyintergov-ernmental organisations;19.12.2007
EN Official Journal of the European Union L 334/127
(c) Spousesandchildren(includingadopted),whoareunderthe
age of 21 or are dependent and parents (including custodi-
ans) visiting citizens of the former Yugoslav Republic ofMacedonia legally residing in the territory of the MemberStates,withthetermofvaliditylimitedtothedurationofthevalidity of their authorization for legal residence;
(d) Businesspeopleandrepresentativesofbusinessorganisations
who regularly travel to the Member States;
(e) Journalists;
(f) Representatives of religious communities registered in the
formerYugoslavRepublicofMacedonia,whoregularlytravel
to the Member States.
2. Diplomatic missions and consular posts of the MemberStatesshallissuemultiple-entryvisaswithatermofvalidityofupto one year to the following categories of persons, provided thatduringthepreviousyeartheyhaveobtainedatleastonevisa,havemade use of it in accordance with the laws on entry and stay ofthe visited State and that there are reasons for requesting amultiple-entry visa:
(a) Studentsandpost-graduatestudentswhoregularlyundertake
tripsforthepurposesofstudyoreducationaltraining,includ-
ing in the framework of exchange programmes;
(b) Persons who participate in scientific, research, cultural and
artistic activities, including university and other exchangeprograms who regularly travel to the Member States;
(c) Participants in international sports events and persons
accompanying them in a professional capacity;
(d) Members of the professions participating in international
exhibitions, conferences, symposia, seminars or other simi-lar events who regularly travel to the Member States;
(e) Representativesofcivilsocietyorganisations,travellingregu-
larlytoMemberStatesforthepurposesofeducationaltrain-ing, seminars, conferences, including in the framework ofexchange programmes;
(f) Participants in official exchange programmes organized by
twin cities;
(g) Mayors and members of the municipal councils;
(h) Drivers conducting international cargo and passenger trans-
portation services to the territories of the Member States in
vehicles registered in the former Yugoslav Republic ofMacedonia;
(i) Membersoftrain,refrigeratorandlocomotivecrews,ininter-
national trains, travelling to the territories of the MemberStates;(j) Persons needing to visit regularly for medical reasons and
necessary accompanying persons;
(k) Members of official delegations who, following an official
invitation addressed to the former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia, shall regularly participate in meetings, consulta-tions, negotiations or exchange programmes, as well as ineventsheldintheterritoryoftheMemberStatesbyintergov-ernmental organisations.
3. Diplomatic missions and consular posts of the MemberStates shall issue multiple-entry visas with the term of validity ofaminimumoftwoyearsandamaximumoffiveyearstothecat-egories of persons referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, andtootherpersonsprovidedthatduringthepreviousyeartheyhavemade use of the one multiple-entry visa in accordance with thelawsonentryandstayofthevisitedStateandthatthereasonsforrequesting a multiple-entry visa are still valid.
4. The total period of stay of persons referred to in para-
graphs 1 to 3 of this Article shall not exceed 90 days per periodof 180 days in the territory of the Member States.
Article 6
Fees for processing visa applications
1. The fee for processing visa applications of citizens of theformerYugoslavRepublicofMacedoniashallamounttoEUR35.
Theaforementionedamountmaybereviewedinaccordancewith
the procedure provided for in Article 14(4).
IftheformerYugoslavRepublicofMacedoniawastoreintroduce
thevisarequirementforEUcitizens,thevisafeetobechargedbythe former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia shall not be higherthanEUR35ortheamountagreedifthefeeisreviewedinaccor-dance with the procedure provided for in Article 14(4).
2. Fees for processing the visa application are waived for the
following categories of persons:
(a) close relatives — spouse, children (including adopted) par-
ents (including custodians), grandparents and grandchildren
of citizens of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,legally residing in the territory of the Member States;
(b) members of official delegations who, following an official
invitation addressed to the former Yugoslav Republic ofMacedoniashallparticipateinmeetings,consultations,nego-tiationsorexchangeprogrammes,aswellasineventsheldinthe territory of the Member States by intergovernmentalorganisations;
(c) membersofnationalgovernment,Parliament,Constitutional
Court,SupremeCourt,JudiciaryCouncilandPublicProsecu-tors Council, if they are not exempted from the visa require-ment by the present Agreement;L 334/128
EN Official Journal of the European Union 19.12.2007
(d) mayors and members of the municipal councils;
(e) disabled persons and the person accompanying them, if
necessary;
(f) persons who have presented documents proving the neces-
sity of their travel on humanitarian grounds, including to
receive urgent medical treatment and the person accompa-nying such person, or to attend a funeral of a close relativeor to visit a seriously ill close relative;
(g) participants in international sports events and persons
accompanying them in a professional capacity;
(h) personsparticipatinginscientific,research,culturalandartis-
tic activities including university and other exchangeprogrammes;
(i) participants in official exchange programmes organized by
twin cities;
(j) journalists;
(k) pensioners;(l) drivers conducting international cargo and passenger trans-
portation services to the territories of the Member States in
vehicles registered in the former Yugoslav Republic ofMacedonia;
(m) membersoftrain,refrigeratorandlocomotivecrewsininter-
national trains, travelling to the territories of the MemberStates;
(n) representatives of civil society organisations when undertak-
ingtripstoattendmeetings,seminars,exchangeprogrammesor trainings courses;
(o) representatives of religious communities registered in the
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia;
(p) members of the professions participating in international
exhibitions, conferences, symposia, seminars or other simi-lar events held in the territory of the Member States;
(q) pupils, students, post-graduate students and accompanying
teachers who undertake trips for the purposes of study oreducationaltraining,includingintheframeworkofexchangeprogrammes, as well as other educational or school relatedactivities;
(r) children under six years of age.
3. Bywayofderogationfromparagraph1above,Bulgariaand
Romania which are bound by the Schengen acquisbut which do
not yet issue Schengen visas, may waive the fees for processingnational short stay visa applications for citizens of the formerYugoslav Republic of Macedonia, until the day to be determinedby the Council Decision for their full implementation of theSchengen acquison visa policy.Article 7
Length of procedures for processing visa applications
1. Diplomatic missions and consular posts of the Member
Statesshalltakeadecisionontherequesttoissueavisawithin10calendar days of the date of the receipt of the application anddocuments required for issuing the visa.
2. The period of time for taking a decision on a visa applica-
tion may be extended to up to 30 calendar days in individualcases, notably when further scrutiny of the application is needed.
3. The period of time for taking a decision on a visa applica-
tion may be reduced to two working days or less in urgent cases.
Article 8
Departure in case of lost or stolen documents
Citizens of the European Union and of the former YugoslavRepublicofMacedoniawhohavelosttheiridentitydocuments,orfrom whom these documents have been stolen while staying intheterritoryoftheformerYugoslavRepublicofMacedoniaortheMemberStates,mayleavethatterritoryonthebasisofvalididen-tity documents entitling them to cross the border issued by dip-lomaticmissionsorconsularpostsoftheMemberStatesoroftheformerYugoslavRepublicofMacedoniawithoutanyvisaorotherauthorisation.
Article 9
Extension of visa in exceptional circumstances
The citizens of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia who
do not have the possibility to leave the territory of the MemberStatesbythetimestatedintheirvisasforreasonsof forcemajeure ,
humanitarian,seriousoccupationalorpersonalreasonsshallhavethetermoftheirvisasextendedfreeofchargeinaccordancewiththe legislation applied by the receiving State for the periodrequired for their return to the State of their residence.
Article 10
Diplomatic passports
1. Citizens of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,holders of valid diplomatic passports can enter, leave and transitthrough the territories of the Member States without visas.
2. Persons mentioned in paragraph 1 of this Article may stay
in the territories of the Member States for a period not exceeding90 days per period of 180 days.19.12.2007
EN Official Journal of the European Union L 334/129
Article 11
Territorial validity of visas
Subject to the national rules and regulations concerning national
security of the Member States and subject to EU rules on visaswith limited territorial validity, citizens of the former YugoslavRepublic of Macedonia shall be entitled to travel within the terri-toryoftheMemberStatesonanequalbasiswithEuropeanUnioncitizens.
Article 12
Joint Committee for management of the Agreement
1. The Parties shall set up a Joint Committee of experts (here-inafter referred to as ‘the Committee’), composed of representa-tives of the European Community and of the former YugoslavRepublic of Macedonia. The Community shall be represented bythe Commission of the European Communities, assisted byexperts from the Member States.
2. TheCommitteeshall,inparticular,havethefollowingtasks:(a) monitoring the implementation of the present Agreement,
(regular exchange of information, including data on number
of issued visas, submitted and rejected visa applications);
(b) suggesting amendments or additions to the present
Agreement;
(c) settling disputes arising out of the interpretation or applica-
tion of the provisions in this Agreement.
3. The Committee shall meet whenever necessary at therequest of one of the Parties and at least once a year.
4. The Committee shall establish its rules of procedure.5. TheCommitteeshallinformtherelevantbodiesestablished
under the Stabilization and Association Agreement providingperiodically data on the implementation of the presentAgreement.
Article 13
Relation of this Agreement with bilateral Agreements
between Member States and the former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia
1. As from its entry into force, this Agreement shall take pre-cedence over provisions of any bilateral or multilateral agree-ments or arrangements concluded between individual MemberStatesandtheformerYugoslavRepublicofMacedonia,insofarasthe provisions of the latter agreements or arrangements coverissues dealt with by the present Agreement.
2. The provisions of bilateral Agreements or arrangements
between individual Member States and the former YugoslavRepublic of Macedonia signed before 1 January 2007 providingfor the exemption of the holders of service passports from thevisarequirement,shallcontinuetoapplyforaperiodoffiveyearsfrom the entry into force of this Agreement without prejudice totherightoftheMemberStatesconcernedortheformerYugoslavRepublic of Macedonia to denounce or suspend these bilateralagreements during this period of five years.
Article 14
Final clauses
1. This Agreement shall be ratified or approved by the Partiesinaccordancewiththeirrespectiveproceduresandshallenterintoforce on the first day of the second month following the date onwhichthePartiesnotifyeachotherthattheproceduresreferredtoabove have been completed.
2. By way of derogation to paragraph 1 of this Article, the
present agreement shall only enter into force on the date of theentry into force of the Agreement between the European Com-munityandtheformerYugoslavRepublicofMacedoniaonread-mission of persons if this date is after the date provided for inparagraph 1 of this Article.
3. This Agreement is concluded for an indefinite period of
time, unless terminated in accordance with paragraph 6 of thisArticle.
4. This Agreement may be amended by written agreement of
the Parties. Amendments shall enter into force after the Partieshave notified each other of the completion of their internal pro-cedures necessary for this purpose.
5. EachPartymaysuspendinwholeorinpartthisAgreement
forreasonsofpublicorder,protectionofnationalsecurityorpro-tectionofpublichealth.Thedecisiononsuspensionshallbenoti-fiedtotheotherPartynotlaterthan48hoursbeforeitsentryintoforce.ThePartythathassuspendedtheapplicationofthisAgree-ment shall immediately inform the other Party once the reasonsfor the suspension no longer apply.
6. EachPartymayterminatethisAgreementbygivingwritten
noticetotheotherParty.ThisAgreementshallceasetobeinforce90 days after the date of such notification.L 334/130 EN Official Journal of the European Union 19.12.2007
ANNEX
PROTOCOLTOTHEAGREEMENTONTHEMEMBERSTATESTHATDONOTFULLYAPPLYTHESC HENGEN
ACQUIS
ThoseMemberStateswhichareboundbytheSchengen acquisbutwhichdonotissueyetSchengenvisas,whileawaitingthe
relevant decision of the Council to that end, shall issue national visas th e validity of which is limited to their own territory.
TheseMemberStatesmayunilaterallyrecogniseSchengenvisasandreside ncepermitsforthetransitthroughtheirterritory,
in accordance with European parliament and Council Decision No 895/2006/ EC of 14 June 2006.
AsEuropeanParliamentandCouncilDecisionNo895/2006/ECof14June2006 doesnotapplytoRomaniaandBulgaria;
similarprovisionswillbeproposedbytheEuropeanCommissioninorderto enablethesecountriestounilaterallyrecognise
Schengen visas and residence permits and other similar documents issued b y other Member States not yet fully integrated
into the Schengen area for the purpose of transit through their territory.19.12.2007 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 334/131
JOINT DECLARATION ON THE PERSPECTIVE ON MUTUAL VISA FREE TRAVEL REGIME
InaccordancewiththeconclusionsoftheEU-WesternBalkansSummitheldi nThessalonikion21June2003
thevisafacilitationsprovidedunderthisAgreementshallrepresentatr ansitionalphasetowardsvisafreetravel
regime for the citizens of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
The visa free travel regime will be introduced for the citizens of the forme r Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,
on the basis of positive assessment of the country’s achievements in imple menting relevant reforms and in
accordance with the procedures and criteria provided for in the Council Re gulation 539/2001 of 15 March
2001.
JOINT DECLARATION CONCERNING DENMARK
ThePartiestakenotethatthepresentAgreementdoesnotapplytotheproce duresforissuingvisasbythedip-
lomatic missions and consular posts of the Kingdom of Denmark.
In such circumstances, it is desirable that the authorities of Denmark and of the former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedoniaconclude,withoutdelay,abilateralagreementonthefacilita tionoftheissuanceofshort-stayvisas
in similar terms as the Agreement between the European Community and the fo rmer Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia.
JOINT DECLARATION CONCERNING THE UNITED KINGDOM AND IRELAND
The Parties take note that the present Agreement does not apply to the terri tory of the United Kingdom and
Ireland.Insuchcircumstances,itisdesirablethattheauthoritiesoftheUnitedK ingdom,IrelandandtheformerYugo-
slav Republic of Macedonia, conclude bilateral agreements on the facilit ation of the issuance of visas.
JOINT DECLARATION CONCERNING ICELAND AND NORWAY
The Parties take note of the close relationship between the European Commu nity and Norway and Iceland,
particularly by virtue of the Agreement of 18 May 1999 concerning the assoc iation of these countries with
the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis.
Insuchcircumstances,itisdesirablethattheauthoritiesofNorway,Ice landandtheformerYugoslavRepublic
ofMacedoniaconclude,withoutdelay,bilateralagreementsonthefacili tationoftheissuanceofshort-stayvisas
in similar terms as the Agreement between the European Community and the fo rmer Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia.L 334/132 EN Official Journal of the European Union 19.12.2007
JOINT DECLARATION CONCERNING SWISS CONFEDERATION AND LIECHTENSTEIN
(if needed)
If the Agreement between the EU, the EC and the Swiss Confederation concern ing the Swiss Confederation’s
association with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquisand the Protocols
to this Agreement concerning Liechtenstein has entered into force by the t ime negotiations with the former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia have concluded, a similar declaration wil l also be made in respect of Swit-
zerland and Liechtenstein.
JOINT DECLARATION ON FEES FOR PROCESSING VISA APPLICATIONS
The European Community takes note of the concerns raised by the former Yugo slav Republic of Macedonia
on the fact that the citizens of the latter are issued Schengen visas with te rritorial validity limited to one or
several Member States. The European Community also takes note of the reque st put forward by the former
YugoslavRepublicofMacedoniathatitscitizensthatareholdersofSchen genvisaswithterritorialvaliditylim-
ited to one or several Member States and who need to travel, within the perio d of validity of that visa, to a
MemberStatenotincludedintheterritorialvalidityofthatvisa,should notbechargedfortheprocessingfees
for the second visa application.
ThePartiesconsiderthatthisissueshouldbeassessedagain,asamattero fpriority,bytheCommitteereferred
to in Article 12, once the European Parliament and the Council will have ado pted the Community Code on
Visa, the draft of which deals with this issue.
EUROPEAN COMMUNITY DECLARATION ON REVIEWING THE
VISA REQUIREMENT FOR HOLDERS OF SERVICE PASSPORTS
As the exemption of the holders of service passports from the visa requirem ent provided in bilateral Agree-
ments or arrangements between individual Member States and the former Yug oslav Republic of Macedonia
whichhavebeensignedbefore1January2007shallonlycontinuetoapplyfo raperiodoffiveyearsfromthe
entryintoforceofthisAgreementwithoutprejudicetotherightoftheMem berStatesconcernedortheformer
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to denounce or suspend these bilateral agr eements during this period of five
years,theEuropeanCommunitywillreassessthesituationoftheholderso fservicepassportsatthelatesttwo
years after the entry into force of this Agreement, in view of a possible ame ndment of the Agreement to that
end in accordance with the procedure provided in Article 14(4).19.12.2007 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 334/133
EUROPEAN COMMUNITY DECLARATION ON ACCESS OF VISA APPLICANTS AND
HARMONISATION OF INFORMATION ON PROCEDURES FOR ISSUING SHORT-STAY VISAS
AND DOCUMENTS TO BE SUBMITTED WHEN APPLYING FOR SHORT-STAY VISAS
Recognisingtheimportanceoftransparencyforvisaapplicants,theEuro peanCommunityrecallsthattheleg-
islativeproposalontherecastoftheCommonConsularInstructionsonvis asforthediplomaticmissionsand
consular posts has been adopted on 19 July 2006 by the European Commission a nd currently under discus-
sions between the European Parliament and the Council, addresses the issu e of conditions of access of visa
applicants to diplomatic missions and consular posts of the Member States .
Regarding the information to be provided to visa applicants the European C ommunity considers that appro-
priate measures should be taken:
— ingeneral,todrawupbasicinformationforapplicantsontheprocedures andconditionsforapplyingfor
visas and on their validity,
— theEuropeanCommunitywilldrawupalistofminimumrequirementsinorde rtoensurethatapplicants
from former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia are given coherent and uniform basic information and are
required to submit, in principle, the same supporting documents.
The information mentioned above including the list of accredited travel a gencies and tour operators in the
framework of local consular cooperation is to be disseminated widely (on t he notice boards of consulates, in
leaflets, on websites etc.).DiplomaticmissionsandconsularpostsoftheMemberStatesshallorganis ethemselvesinsuchawaythatan
appointmentforsubmittingthevisaapplicationandtherelevantsupport ingdocumentscanbeensuredwithin
a reasonable period of time.ThediplomaticmissionsandconsularpostsoftheMemberStatesshallprov ideinformationaboutexistingpos-
sibilities under the Schengen acquisfor facilitation of the issuing of short-term visas including on the simpl i-
fication of document requirements on a case-by-case basis, and in particu lar forbona fideapplicants.
POLITICAL DECLARATION FROM BULGARIA ON LOCAL BORDER TRAFFIC
The Republic of Bulgaria declares its willingness to enter into negotiati ons of bilateral agreement with the
formerYugoslavRepublicofMacedoniaforthepurposeofimplementingthe localbordertrafficregimeestab-
lishedbytheECRegulationNo1931/2006of20December2006layingdownrul esonlocalbordertrafficat
the external land borders of the Member States and amending the provisions of the Schengen Convention.L 334/134 EN Official Journal of the European Union 19.12.2007
EUROPEAN COMMUNITY DECLARATION ON FACILITATIONS FOR FAMILY MEMBERS
TheEuropeanCommunitytakesnoteofthesuggestionoftheformerYugoslav RepublicofMacedoniatogive
a wider definition to the notion of family members that should benefit from visa facilitation as well as of the
importance that the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia attaches to the simplification of movement of
this category of persons.
In order to ease the mobility of an extended number of persons which have fam ily links (in particular sisters
and brothers and their children) with citizens of the former Yugoslav Repu blic of Macedonia legally residing
in the territories of Member States, the European Community invites the Me mber States’ consular offices to
makefulluseoftheexistingpossibilitiesinthe acquiscommunautaire forfacilitatingtheissuanceofvisastothis
categoryofpersons,includinginparticular,thesimplificationofdocu mentaryevidencerequestedfortheappli-
cants, exemptions from handling fees and where appropriate the issuing of multiple entry visas.19.12.2007 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 334/135