3.

Point 1 of Part VII shall be amended as follows: ‘1. Organisation of visa sections 1.1. Organisation of the reception and processing of visa applications Each Member State shall be responsible for organising the reception and processing of applications. In principle, applications shall be lodged at a diplomatic mission or consular post of a Member State. Member States shall: — equip their diplomatic missions or consular posts and authorities responsible for issuing visas at the borders with the required material for the collection of biometric identifiers, as well as the offices of their honorary consuls, whenever they make use of them, to collect biometric identifiers in accordance with point 1.3, and/or — cooperate with one or more other Member States, within the framework of local consular cooperation or by other appropriate contacts, in the form of limited representation, co-location, or a Common Application Centre, in accordance with point 1.2. In particular circumstances or for reasons relating to the local situation, such as where: — the high number of applicants does not allow the collection of applications and of data to be organised in a timely manner and in decent conditions, or — it is not possible to ensure a good territorial coverage of the third country concerned in any other way, and where the abovementioned forms of cooperation prove not to be appropriate for the Member State concerned, a Member State may, as a last resort, cooperate with an external service provider in accordance with point 1.4. Without prejudice to the right to call the applicant for a personal interview, as provided for in Part III, point 4, the selection of a form of organisation shall not result in requiring the applicant to make personal appearances at more than one location in order to lodge an application. 1.2. Forms of cooperation between Member States (a) Where “co-location” is chosen, staff of the diplomatic missions or consular posts of one or more Member States shall process the applications (including biometric identifiers) addressed to them at the diplomatic mission or consular post of another Member State and share the equipment of that Member State. The Member States concerned shall agree on the duration of and conditions for the termination of the co-location as well as the proportion of the visa fee to be received by the Member State whose diplomatic mission or consular post is being used. (b) Where “Common Application Centres” are established, staff of the diplomatic missions or consular posts of two or more Member States shall be pooled in one building in order to receive the applications (including biometric identifiers) addressed to them. Applicants shall be directed to the Member State responsible for the processing of the application. Member States shall agree on the duration of and conditions for the termination of this cooperation as well as the cost-sharing among the participating Member States. One Member State shall be responsible for contracts in relation to logistics and diplomatic relations with the host country. 1.3. Recourse to honorary consuls Honorary consuls may also be authorised to perform some or all of the tasks referred to in point 1.5. Adequate measures shall be taken to guarantee security and data protection. Where the honorary consul is not a civil servant of a Member State, the performance of those tasks shall comply with the requirements set out in Annex 19 except for the provisions in point C(c) of that Annex. Where the honorary consul is a civil servant of a Member State, the Member State concerned shall ensure that requirements comparable to those which would apply if the tasks were performed by its diplomatic mission or consular post are applied. 1.4. Cooperation with external service providers Member States shall endeavour to cooperate with an external service provider together with one or more Member States, without prejudice to public procurement and competition rules. Cooperation with an external service provider shall be based on a legal instrument that shall comply with the requirements set out in Annex 19. Member States shall, within the framework of local consular cooperation, exchange information about the selection of external service providers and the establishment of the terms and conditions of their respective legal instruments. 1.5. Types of cooperation with external service providers An external service provider may be entrusted with the performance of one or more of the following tasks: (a) providing general information on visa requirements and application forms; (b) informing the applicant of the required supporting documents, on the basis of a checklist; (c) collecting data and applications (including collection of biometric identifiers) and transmitting the application to the diplomatic mission or consular post; (d) collecting the fee to be charged; (e) managing the appointments for personal appearance at the diplomatic mission or consular post or at the external service provider; (f) collecting the travel documents (including a refusal notification if applicable) from the diplomatic mission or consular post and returning them to the applicant. 1.6. Obligations of Member States When selecting an external service provider, the Member State(s) concerned shall scrutinise the solvency and reliability of the company (including the necessary licences, commercial registration, company statutes, bank contracts) and ensure that there is no conflict of interests. The Member State(s) concerned shall ensure that the external service provider selected complies with the terms and conditions assigned to it in the legal instrument referred to in point 1.4. The Member State(s) concerned shall remain responsible for compliance with data protection rules for the processing of data and shall be supervised in accordance with Article 28 of Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (15). Cooperation with an external service provider shall not limit or exclude any liability arising under the national law of the Member State(s) concerned for breaches of obligations with regard to the personal data of applicants and the processing of visas. This provision is without prejudice to any action which may be taken directly against the external service provider under the national law of the third country concerned. The Member State(s) concerned shall ensure that the data are fully encrypted, whether electronically transferred or physically transferred on an electronic storage medium from the external service provider to the authorities of the Member State(s) concerned. In third countries which prohibit encryption of data to be electronically transferred from the external service provider to the authorities of the Member State(s) concerned, the Members State(s) concerned shall not allow the external service provider to transfer data electronically. In this case, the Member State(s) concerned shall ensure that the electronic data are transferred physically in fully encrypted form on an electronic storage medium from the external service provider to the authorities of the Member State(s) concerned by a consular officer of a Member State or, where such a transfer would require disproportionate or unreasonable measures to be taken, in another safe and secure way, for example by using established operators experienced in transporting sensitive documents and data in the third country concerned. In all cases the level of security for the transfer shall be adapted to the sensitive nature of the data. The Member States or the Community shall endeavour to reach an agreement with the third countries concerned with the aim of lifting the prohibition against encryption of data to be electronically transferred from the external service provider to the authorities of the Member State(s) concerned. The Member State(s) concerned shall provide training to the external service provider, corresponding to the knowledge needed to offer appropriate service and sufficient information to applicants. The Member State(s) concerned shall, in case of doubt, provide for the possibility of verifying at the diplomatic mission or consular post fingerprints which have been taken by the external service provider. The examination of applications, interviews, where appropriate, the authorisation process and the printing and affixing of visa stickers shall be carried out only by the diplomatic mission or consular post. External service providers shall not have access to the VIS under any circumstances. Access to the VIS shall be reserved exclusively to duly authorised staff of diplomatic missions or consular posts. The Member State(s) concerned shall closely monitor the implementation of the legal instrument referred to in point 1.4, including: (a) the general information on visa requirements and application forms provided by the external service provider to applicants; (b) all the technical and organisational security measures required to protect personal data against accidental or unlawful destruction or accidental loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure or access, in particular where the cooperation involves the transmission of files and data to the diplomatic mission or consular post of the Member State(s) concerned, and all other unlawful forms of processing the personal data; (c) the collection and transmission of biometric identifiers; (d) the measures taken to ensure compliance with data protection provisions. To this end, the diplomatic mission or consular post of the Member State(s) concerned shall, on a regular basis, carry out unannounced checks on the premises of the external service provider. 1.7. Service fee External service providers may charge a service fee in addition to the fee to be charged as set out in Annex 12. The service fee shall be proportionate to the costs incurred by the external service provider while performing one or more of the tasks referred to in point 1.5. This service fee shall be specified in the legal instrument referred to in point 1.4. In the framework of local consular cooperation, Member States shall ensure that the service fee charged to an applicant duly reflects the services offered by the external service provider and is adapted to local circumstances. Furthermore, they shall aim to harmonise the service fee applied. The service fee shall not exceed half of the amount of the visa fee set out in Annex 12, irrespective of the possible exemptions from the visa fee as provided for by Annex 12. The Member State(s) concerned shall maintain the possibility for all applicants to lodge applications directly at its diplomatic missions or consular posts. 1.8. Information Precise information on the means of obtaining an appointment and submitting an application shall be displayed by Member States’ diplomatic missions and consular posts for the general public. 1.9. Continuity of service In the event of termination of cooperation with other Member States or with any type of external service provider, Member States shall assure the continuity of full service. 1.10. Decision and publication Member States shall inform the Commission of how they intend to organise the reception and processing of applications in each consular location. The Commission shall ensure appropriate publication. Member States shall provide the Commission with a copy of the legal instrument referred to in point 1.4.