Council Regulation (EC) No 453/2003 of 6 March 2003 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
Date: 2003-03-06
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: EU visa policy, Schengen Agreement, external border of the EU, foreign national, third country

L 69/10

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

13.3.2003

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 453/2003

of 6 March 2003

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

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Commu-
nity, and in particular Article 62(2)(b)(i) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (2),

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

Following the European Council held in Seville on 21
and 22 June 2002, which considered as a top priority
the review of Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 by the end
of 2002 (3), the Commission has evaluated the Member
States' replies to the questionnaire it sent them in the
light of the relevant criteria for the review of Regulation
(EC) No 539/2001, namely illegal
immigration, public
policy and security, the European Union's external rela-
tions with third countries, regional coherence and reci-
procity. It has found that Ecuador should be transferred
from Annex II to Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 539/
2001 in the light of the illegal immigration criterion.

Developments in international law, entailing changes in
the status or designation of certain States or entities,
should be reflected in the Annexes to Regulation (EC)
No 539/2001. In Annex I to that Regulation, East Timor
should be removed from Part 2 (territorial entities) and
added to Part 1 (States).

Since the Agreement between the European Community
and its Member States, of the one part, and the Swiss
Confederation, of the other part, on the free movement
of persons provides for free movement without visas for
nationals of Switzerland and of the Member States, Swit-
zerland should no longer be mentioned in Annex II to
Regulation (EC) No 539/2001.

It is clear from the Member States' replies to the ques-
tionnaire that an in-depth review of the reciprocity rule
is called for, on which the Commission will report at a
later date.

The visa requirement
for Ecuador should be applied
uniformly by the Member States. A date should accord-
ingly be set from which all Member States have to apply
the visa requirement,

As regards Iceland and Norway, this Regulation consti-
tutes a development of the provisions of the Schengen
acquis within the meaning of the Agreement concluded

(1) Not yet published in the Official Journal.
(2) Opinion delivered on 12 February 2003.
(3) OJ L 81, 21.3.2001, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation

(EC) No 2414/2001 (OJ L 327, 12.12.2001, p. 1).

by the Council of the European Union and the Republic
of Iceland and the Kingdom of Norway concerning the
association of those two States with the implementation,
application and development of the Schengen acquis (4),
which fall within the area referred to in Article 1, point
A, of Council Decision 1999/437/EC of 17 May 1999
on certain arrangements for the application of
that
Agreement (5).

The United Kingdom and Ireland are not taking part in
the adoption of this Regulation and are not bound by it
or subject to its application.

This Regulation constitutes an act building on the
Schengen acquis or otherwise related to it within the
meaning of Article 3(1) of the Act of Accession,

(7)

(8)

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 shall be amended as follows:

1.

in Annex I:

(a) ‘East Timor’ shall be moved from Part 2 (Entities and
territorial authorities that are not recognised as States by
at least one Member State) to Part 1 (States), where it
shall appear before ‘Egypt’;

(b) ‘Ecuador’ shall be inserted in Part 1, where it shall

appear between ‘East Timor’ and ‘Egypt’;

2.

‘Ecuador’ and ‘Switzerland’ shall be deleted from Part 1 of
Annex II.

Article 2

The Commission shall report to the European Parliament and
the Council no later than 30 June 2003 on the implications of
appropriate
reciprocity
proposals.

shall present

if necessary,

and,

Article 3

1.
This Regulation shall enter into force on the 20th day
following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the
European Union.

2. Member States shall apply the visa requirement with
regard to nationals of Ecuador as from 1 June 2003.

(4) OJ L 176, 10.7.1999, p. 36.
(5) OJ L 176, 10.7.1999, p. 31.

13.3.2003

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Official Journal of the European Union

L 69/11

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in the Member States in
accordance with the Treaty establishing the European Community.

Done at Brussels, 6 March 2003.

For the Council

The President

D. REPPAS