amending Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

1.CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL

•Reasons for and objectives of the proposal

The EU-Ukraine Visa Liberalisation Dialogue was launched in October 2008. In November 2010, the European Commission presented the Ukrainian Government with an action plan on visa liberalisation (VLAP). The Commission committed itself to proposing visa-free travel for short stays in the European Union to Ukrainian nationals holding biometric passports, as soon as all the benchmarks set in the VLAP had been met by the Ukrainian Government.

Before the start of the Visa Liberalisation Dialogue, the EU and Ukraine had concluded in parallel a Visa Facilitation Agreement and a Readmission Agreement, which entered into force on 1 January 2008. The amended Visa Facilitation Agreement entered into force on 1 July 2013. The full and effective implementation of these agreements was a prerequisite for the launching of the visa dialogue and a condition for its continuation.

The VLAP is structured around four 'blocks': document security, including biometrics (block I), migration and integrated border management, including asylum (block II), public order and security (block III), and external relations and fundamental rights (block IV). The VLAP sets out a series of precise benchmarks for each of these four 'blocks' of technically relevant issues with a view to adopting a legislative, policy and institutional framework (phase 1) and ensuring its effective and sustainable implementation (phase 2).

Since the launch of the EU-Ukraine Visa Liberalisation Dialogue, the Commission has reported regularly to the European Parliament and to the Council on Ukraine's progress towards fulfilling the benchmarks identified under the four blocks under the VLAP's first and second phases. Progress made has been assessed on the basis of on-site evaluations by experts from EU Member States and detailed information provided by Ukraine.

On 16 September 2011, the Commission adopted its first progress report on Ukraine's implementation of the VLAP and made several recommendations for completing the first (legislative and planning) phase. The Commission published its second progress report on 9 February 2012, and the third on 15 November 2013. Following the Commission’s fourth report on 27 May 2014 and its endorsement by the Council on 23 June 2014, Ukraine officially entered the second phase of the VLAP during which an assessment regarding the sustainable implementation of the legislative and policy framework was made.

The Commission adopted the fifth progress report on Ukraine’s implementation of the VLAP on 8 May 2015. The report stated that the progress achieved by the Ukrainian authorities in the implementation of the second phase of the VLAP was noteworthy. In line with the methodology outlined in the VLAP, the Commission organised on-site evaluations involving experts from EU Member States. The report was accompanied by an assessment of the potential migratory and security impacts of future visa liberalisation for Ukrainian citizens travelling to the EU.

In its sixth and final progress report, adopted on 18 December 2015, the Commission considered that Ukraine had made the necessary progress and had undertaken all the required reforms to ensure effective and sustainable achievement of the remaining benchmarks.

Based on this assessment and given the outcome of the continuous monitoring and reporting that had been carried out since the launch of the EU-Ukraine Visa Liberalisation Dialogue, the Commission confirmed that Ukraine had met all the benchmarks for each of the four blocks of the second phase of the VLAP and that it would present, in early 2016, a legislative proposal to amend Regulation (EC) No 539/2001, transferring Ukraine to the list of visa-free countries (Annex II).

Moreover, since the adoption of the sixth report, the Commission took note of the progress made by the Ukrainian authorities to implement the required reforms under the VLAP. The National Anti-corruption Bureau is operational and started to work along with the specialised anti-corruption prosecution. After the successful adoption of the asset recovery laws and amendments to the Law on Prosecution Office relating to the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (18 February 2016), as well as the Law on electronic asset declarations (15 March 2016), further progress has been noted in mid-March 2016 with the appointment of two further members of the Board of the National Agency for Prevention of Corruption, enabling the Board to reach the quorum. On 28 March the Head of the Agency has been elected and on 30 March the Agency has been registered as legal entity. The Ukrainian authorities allocated in the State Budget for 2016 also financial resources to ensure a well-functioning institutional framework for anti-corruption, including the National Anti-Corruption Bureau.

In addition to reporting on the VLAP, the Commission has continuously monitored the implementation of the Visa Facilitation and Readmission Agreements, notably through the Joint Committees established under those agreements. The last meeting to date of the Joint Visa Facilitation Committee took place on 23 April 2015, and the Joint Readmission Committee met for the last time on 6 May 2014. In this context, the Commission noted that implementation of the agreements was overall very satisfactory.

•Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area and other Union policies

Council Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 lists the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of a visa when crossing the external borders of the Member States and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement. Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 is applied by all Member States – with the exception of Ireland and the United Kingdom – and also by Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. The Regulation is part of the EU's common visa policy for short stays of 90 days within any 180-day period.

Ukraine is currently listed on Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 539/2001, i.e. among those countries whose nationals are required to hold a visa when travelling to the territory of EU Member States.

Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 was last amended by Regulation (EU) No 259/2014 when Moldova was transferred to the visa-free list as a result of the successful implementation of its VLAP, and Regulation (EU) No 509/2014 when five Caribbean, and eleven Pacific countries, as well as Colombia, Peru and the United Arab Emirates were exempted from the visa requirement – subject to the conclusion of visa waiver agreements between the EU and the respective third countries – as a result of a periodical review of the visa lists.

The criteria which should be taken into account when determining, based on a case-by-case assessment, the third countries whose nationals are subject to, or exempt from, the visa requirement are laid down in Article -1 of Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 (as introduced by Regulation (EU) No 509/2014). They include “illegal immigration, public policy and security, economic benefit, in particular in terms of tourism and foreign trade, and the Union’s external relations with the relevant third countries, including in particular, considerations of human rights and fundamental freedoms, as well as the implications of regional coherence and reciprocity”. Particular attention should be paid to the security of travel documents issued by the third countries concerned.