Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council relating to measures envisaged to facilitate the procedures for applying for and issuing visas for members of the Olympic family taking part in the 2006 Olympic and /or Paralympic Winter Games in Torino
Date: 2005-09-07
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU visa policy, Italy, Olympic games, admission of aliens, derogation from EU law, professional sport

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 07.09.2005 
COM(2005) 412 final 

2005/0169 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

relating to measures envisaged to facilitate the procedures for applying for and issuing 
visas for members of the Olympic family taking part in the 2006 Olympic and /or 
Paralympic Winter Games in Torino  

(presented by the Commission) 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 

In  2004,  Greece  became  the  first  Member  State  part  of  the  Schengen  area  without  internal 
borders, in whose territory took place the Olympic and Paralympic Games. To enable Greece 
to honour the undertaking it has been given by the International Olympic Committee and to 
promote  the  educational  value  of  sport,  the  EU  adopted  specific  measures  to  facilitate  the 
issuing  of  Schengen  visa  to  members  of  the  Olympic  family.  Such  measures  were  justified 
because of the exceptional character of the event and the need to respect the obligations taken 
by Greece under the Olympic Charter - a right of access for members of the Olympic family 
to the territory of the organising state - without undermining the essential principles and the 
smooth functioning of the Schengen area.  

To this end, the Council adopted on 15 July 2003 Regulation (EC) No 1295/20031 aimed at 
facilitating both the procedures for submitting visa applications and the issuing of Schengen 
visas  to  members  of  the  Olympic  family  participating  in  the  2004  Olympic  and  Paralympic 
Games of Athens.  

Although  it  maintained  the  visa  obligation  for  members  of  the  Olympic  family  who  are 
subject  to  that  requirement  under  Regulation  (EC)  No  539/2001  listing  the  third  countries 
whose  nationals  fall  under  the  visa  duty  when  crossing  the  external  borders,  as  well  as 
exemptions from the latter2, Regulation (EC) No 1295/2003 provided facilitating procedures 
for submitting a collective application for Members of the Olympic family via the Olympic 
accreditation  system,  for  simplifying  their  supporting  documents  requirement  and  for 
allowing  the  visa  to  be  issued  in  the  format  of  special  visa  number  to  be  included  on  the 
Olympic accreditation card. Furthermore, controls at the external borders for the Members of 
the  Olympic  family  were  limited  to  the  strict  necessary,  taking  into  account  the  specific 
provisions on visas. The derogation system was in place only for the duration of the Athens 
2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games.  

Article  10  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  1295/2003  stipulated  that  the  derogation  arrangements 
implemented by Greece must be evaluated after the closure of the Paralympic Games on the 
basis of a report to be submitted by Greece four months after that date and any information 
provided by other Member States within the same time limit. On the basis of the information 
received  the  Commission  has  drawn  up  an  assessment  of  the  functioning  of  the  derogation 
system and reported to the European Parliament and the Council as to how these derogation 
arrangements  had  worked  in  practice.  The  objective  of  the  evaluation  is  to  ensure  the 
effectiveness  of  the  whole  derogation  regime  in  the  perspective  of  the  adoption  of  similar 
provisions for the 2006 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games as well as for other Member 
States  whose  cities  may  select  to  host  in  the  future  the  organisation  of  Olympic  and 
Paralympic  Games.  The  Council  and  the  Commission  declared  that  “in  evaluating  the 
derogation arrangements provided for in this Regulation for members of the Olympic family 
participating in the 2004 Olympic and/or Paralympic Games in Athens who are subject to the 
visa  requirement,  special  attention  will  be  paid  to  whether  the  level  of  security  of  the 

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2 

OJ L 183, 22.7.2003, p.1.  
OJ  L  81,  21.3.2001,  p.1.  Regulation  as  last  amended  by  Regulation  (EC)  No  851/2005  (OJ  L  141, 
4.6.2005, p.3).  

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accreditation card issued to members of the Olympic family by the Organising Committee of 
the 2004 Olympic Games and in which the visa issued by the competent Greek authorities is 
incorporated affects the proper working of the derogation arrangements.”  

The Greek Authorities submitted in February 2005 to the Commission and to the Council a 
report  on  the  implementation  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  1295/20033.  The  report  stressed  the 
successful implementation of the derogation system and confirmed that the provisions of the 
Regulation  offered  an  effective  and  flexible  visa  regime  adequate  for  allowing  Greece,  as  a 
Schengen  Member  State  to  respect  its  obligation  under  the  Olympic  Charter  without 
diminishing the level of security in the common area without internal borders. 

In  particular,  according  to  the  information  submitted  by  the  Greek  authorities,  an  Olympic 
Consulate was set up pursuant to the Greek Law No 3207/2003 as a special service under the 
Ministry  of  Foreign  affairs  to  examine  and  approve  visas  for  the  Olympic  family.  The 
Olympic  Consulate  issued  13.077  uniform  visas.  Applications  were  received  electronically 
from the Accreditation Department of the Athens 2004 Organising Committee following the 
procedures  described  in  the  Regulation  in  compliance  with  the  “Athens  2004  Accreditation 
Card Manual”. 298 and 321 responsible organisations have been involved in the selection of 
the  Members  for  the  Olympic  family,  which  participated  in  the  Athens  2004  Olympic  and 
Paralympic  Games  respectively.  The  Olympic  accreditation  cards  satisfied  the  highest 
security  standards  in  compliance  with  the  technical  specification  defined  in  the  Joint 
Ministerial Decision 1016/114/125–a (concerning the non confidential part of the card). The 
Athens  2004  Olympic  Accreditation  Card’s  security  standards  have  been  considered  as 
equivalent  to  those  for  the  uniform  format  for  visas,  encompassing  both  visible  and  non-
visible  optical  and  physical  security  features,  protecting  the  photograph  and  personal  data 
fields in order to render falsification extremely difficult. Although the entire duration of the 
derogation  period  (Olympic  and  Paralympic  Games)  was  108  days  and  the  fact  that  some 
Members  of  the  Olympic  family  were  accredited  for  both  Games,  no  violation  of  the  basic 
rule of maximum duration of 90 days has been observed. The network of contact points in the 
Embassies  of  Schengen  States  in  Athens,  the  communication  network  and  links  in  the 
Schengen  States  capitals,  the  24-hour  standby  call  centre,  a  special  web-site  with  secure 
access code and a toll-free number were, among others, some of the basic initiatives taken by 
the  Greek  authorities  to  ensure  effective  communication  with  the  Schengen  partners  for  the 
duration of the derogation period.  

All the comments submitted by Member States till the end of April 2005 confirmed the good 
functioning of the derogation system during the Athens 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games 
as  well  as  the  effectiveness  of  the  whole  regime  introduced  by  Regulation  (EC)  No 
1295/2003.  

Based  on  this  successful  experience,  the  Commission  services’  report  on  the  functioning  of 
the  derogation  system  introduced  by  Regulation  (EC)  No  1295/2003  regarding  measures 
envisaged to facilitate the procedures for applying  for  and  issuing  visas  for  members  of  the 
Olympic  family  taking  part  in  the  2004  Olympic  or  Paralympic  Games  in  Athens 
recommends that the EU should adopt a nearly identical regime to enable Italy, host country 
for  the  Torino  2006  Winter  Games,  to  honour  the  obligation  taken  in  compliance  with  the 
Olympic Charter.  

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VISA 26, COMIX 71, (58621/2/05) REV 2 

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The introduction of a similar derogation system for the Torino 2006 Games is justified, even 
if the number of participants to the 2006 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games is expected 
to be smaller than the one of the Athens 2004 Games. The estimated number of visa required 
for the participating in the 2006 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games is 3.000 cases.  

In  this  context,  the  present  proposal  follows  the  same  principles  as  Regulation  (EC)  No 
1295/2003:  it  maintains  the  visa  requirement  for  members  of  the  Olympic  family  who, 
because  of  their  nationality,  are  subject  to  that  requirement  under  Regulation  (EC)  No 
539/2001; the arrangements proposed are aimed merely at facilitating both the procedures for 
submitting applications and the form in which visas are issued; the derogation will apply only 
for the duration of the 2006 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. This period runs — for 
the  2006  Olympic  Winter  Games  —  from  10  January  2006  (one  month  before  the  official 
opening on 10 February) to 26 March 2006 (one month after the closure of the Games on 26 
February)  and  —  for  the  2006  Paralympic  Winter  Games  —  from  10  February  2006  (one 
month before the official opening on 10 March) to 19 April 2006 (one month after the closure 
of the Games on 19 March). 

Because of the very satisfactory functioning of Regulation (EC) No 1295/2003, the proposal 
“copies”  its  provisions,  solely  adapting  it  to  the  2006  Olympics  and  Paralympic  Winter 
Games:  

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By derogation to the rules of the Schengen acquis, individuals applying for a visa are 
not  required  to  present  themselves  at  the  consular  services  neither  to  submit  an 
application, nor to receive the visa, and the request does not have to be presented on 
the  standard  Schengen  form  available  for 
the 
requirements  for  documents  to  be  produced in  support  of  the  application  for  a  visa 
have been relaxed. Finally, the visa will not be issued in the form of the sticker, but 
will  be  formalised  by  means  of  a  specific  number  in  the  2006  Olympic  and 
Paralympic  Winter  Games  accreditation card. Nevertheless, the system proposed in 
no  way  affects  the  rules  of  the  Schengen  acquis  as  regards  procedures  and 
verifications required for the purposes of public order and public safety;  

this  purpose.  Furthermore, 

The organisations responsible for proposing the Members of the Olympic family will 
submit to the 2006 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Organizing Committee, 
together  with  the  request  for  accreditation,  a  list  of  persons  subject  to  the  visa 
requirement  who  are  to  participate  in  the  2006  Olympic  and/or  Paralympic  Winter 
Games; 

Basic  data  of  the  persons  concerned,  such  as  their  name,  forename,  sex,  date  and 
place  of  birth,  as  well  as  passport  number  and  its  type  and  expiry  date,  will  be 
communicated on the accreditation card application form. For each person subject to 
the  visa  requirement,  the  Organising  Committee  of  the  2006  Olympic  and 
Paralympic Winter Games will send a copy of that form to the services responsible 
for issuing visas in Italy; 

After  the  services  responsible  have  examined  each  visa  application  in  accordance 
with  the  acquis  communautaire,  they  will  notify  the  Organising  Committee  of  the 
2006 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games of the number of the visa issued. The 
visa issued will be a uniform, multiple-entry visa for a maximum period of only three 
months from the date of first entry. If the conditions governing the issue of a uniform 
visa  are  not  met,  the  Italian  authorities  may  issue  visas  with  limited  territorial 

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validity to members of the Olympic family. For cases where the duration of the stay 
of  members  of  the  Olympic  family  is  expected  to  exceed  the  maximum  period  of 
three months, the Italian Authorities could issue specific temporary residence permits 
in compliance legislation;  

The  visa  issued  to  a  member  of  the  Olympic  family  will  be  marked  on  the 
accreditation  card  by  a  reference  to  the  number  of  the  visa  and  to  the  passport 
number of the person concerned; 

During  the  entire  derogation  period,  the  Italian  authorities  will  inform  the  other 
Schengen States of any fact or event likely to have an impact on the level of security 
in the Schengen area and transmit any relevant data to them;  

The  derogation  procedure  described  above  does  not  rule  out  the  possibility  of  a 
member  of  the  Olympic  family  submitting  an  individual  visa  application  in 
accordance with the Schengen acquis; 

This proposal does not concern members of the Olympic family who are nationals of 
third countries subject to a  visa requirement and holders of a residence permit or a 
provisional residence permit issued by one of the Member States implementing the 
Schengen  acquis.  The  holders  of  such  documents  shall  indicate  their  possession 
when they fill out the accreditation card application form; 

The  proposal  provides  for  an  evaluation  of  the  derogation  arrangements  after  the 
Olympic  and  Paralympic  Games.  The  Commission  will  report  to  the  Council  and 
Parliament,  on  the  basis  of  a  report  drawn  up  by  the  Italian  authorities  and  any 
information transmitted by the Member States concerned;  

Where no specific derogations are laid down in this proposal, the relevant provisions 
of the acquis communautaire on visas and controls at the external borders of Member 
States' will apply. 

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2. 

PROPORTIONALITY 

Article 5 of the EC Treaty provides that “any action by the Community shall not go beyond 
what is necessary to achieve the objectives of this Treaty”. The form of the action taken by 
the Community must be the simplest form allowing the proposal to attain its objective and to 
be implemented as efficiently as possible. 

The  proposal  provides  for  derogation  from  the  relevant  Schengen  acquis  provisions  on  the 
procedures for applying for and issuing visas, for members of the Olympic family and limited 
to the duration of the 2006 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. The aim is to facilitate 
the access of these persons to the Italian territory, where the Games will take place and their 
transit  through  one  or  more  Schengen  Member  States,  while  meeting  the  requirements  of 
security in an area where internal border controls have been abolished. 

By its very nature, this objective can be attained only by Community action, as no Member 
State would have the right to adopt purely national measures designed to achieve the desired 
effect and derogating from the Schengen acquis.  

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3. 

CONSEQUENCES  IN  RELATION  TO  THE  VARIOUS  PROTOCOLS 
ANNEXED TO THE TREATIES 

The legal basis for the proposal concerns temporary derogations from Community legislation 
on  visas  adopted  under  Title  IV  of  the  EC  Treaty  and  is  therefore  affected  by  the  “variable 
geometry”  arising  from  the  Protocols  on  the  positions  of  the  United  Kingdom,  Ireland  and 
Denmark.  The  proposal  for  a  Regulation  builds  upon  the  Schengen  acquis.  Consideration 
must therefore be given to certain consequences arising from the various Protocols: 

United Kingdom and Ireland 

In accordance with Articles 4 and 5 of the Protocol integrating the Schengen acquis into the 
framework  of  the  European  Union,  “Ireland  and  the  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and 
Northern  Ireland,  which  are  not  bound  by  the  Schengen  acquis,  may  at  any  time  request  to 
take part in some or all of the provisions of the acquis”. 

The proposal for a Regulation constitutes a development of the Schengen acquis, in which the 
United  Kingdom  and  Ireland  do  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 and with the subsequent Council Decision 2004/926/EC on the putting 
into  effect  of  parts  of  the  Schengen  acquis,  and  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.  The  United  Kingdom  and  Ireland  are  therefore  not  taking  part  in  its 
adoption and are not bound by it or subject to its application. 

Denmark 

Under the Protocol on the position of Denmark annexed to the EC Treaty, Denmark does not 
take part in the adoption by the Council of measures pursuant to Title IV of the EC Treaty, 
with the exception of “measures determining the third countries whose nationals must be in 
possession of a visa when crossing the external borders of the Member States” or “measures 
relating to a uniform format for visas” (former Article 100c). 

Where  however,  as  in  this  case,  the  proposals  constitute  a  development  of  the  Schengen 
acquis,  Article  5  of  the  Protocol  states  that,  “Denmark  shall  decide  within  a  period  of  six 
months after the Council has decided on a proposal or initiative to build upon the Schengen 
acquis under the provisions of Title IV of the Treaty establishing the European Community, 
whether it will implement this decision in its national law”. 

Norway and Iceland 

In accordance with the first paragraph of Article 6 of the Protocol integrating the Schengen 
acquis, an Agreement was signed on 18 May 1999 between the Council, Norway and Iceland 
in  order  to  associate  those  two  countries  with  the  implementation,  application  and 
development of the Schengen acquis.4 

Article 1 of that Agreement states that Norway and Iceland are associated with the activities 
of  the  EC  and  the  EU  in  the  fields  covered  by  the  provisions  referred  to  in  Annexes A 
(provisions  of  the  Schengen  acquis)  and  B  (provisions  of  European  Community  acts  which 

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OJ L 176, 10.7.99, p. 35. 

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have replaced  corresponding provisions of — or were  adopted pursuant  to  — the  Schengen 
Convention) to the Agreement, and their further development. 

Under Article 2 of the Agreement, Norway and Iceland implement and apply the provisions of 
all acts or measures taken by the European Union amending or building upon the integrated 
Schengen acquis (Annexes A and B). 

The  present  proposal  builds  upon  the  Schengen  acquis  as  defined  in  Annex  A  to  the 
Agreement. 

The matter must therefore be discussed in the "Mixed Committee" provided for in Article 4 of 
the  Agreement  to  allow  Norway  and  Iceland  "to  explain  the  problems  they  encounter  in 
respect  of"  the  measure  and  "to  express  themselves  on  any  questions  concerning  the 
development of provisions of concern to them or the implementation thereof". 

Switzerland 

As  regards  Switzerland,  this  Regulation  constitutes  a  development  of  the  provisions  of  the 
Schengen  acquis  within  the  meaning  of  the  Agreement  signed  by  the  European  Union,  the 
European  Community  and  the  Swiss  Confederation  on  the  latter’s  association  with  the 
implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis which falls within the 
area referred to in Article 4(1) of Council Decision 2004/860/EC on the signing on behalf of 
the  European  Community,  and  on  the  provisional  application  of  certain  provisions  of  that 
Agreement.  

The  Agreement  with  Switzerland,  signed  on  26  October  2004,  provides  for  provisional 
application of certain provisions upon signatures, in particular the participation of Switzerland 
in the Mixed Committee dealing with the development of the Schengen acquis.  

4. 

CONSEQUENCES  OF  THE  TWO-PHASE  IMPLEMENTATION  OF  ACTS 
BUILDING UPON THE SCHENGEN ACQUIS  

Article  3(1)  of  the  2003  Act  of  Accession  of  the  10  new  Member  States  provides  that  the 
provisions of the Schengen acquis, the acts building upon it or otherwise related to it, listed in 
the annex referred to in that Article, shall be binding on and applicable in the new Member 
States  as  from  their  accession.  The  provisions  and  acts  not  referred  to  in  that  annex  shall, 
while being binding on the new Member States as from accession, be applicable in the new 
Member States following a special Council Decision to that effect, taken in accordance with 
Article 3(2) of the Act of Accession.  

The Schengen provisions on the uniform visa are not listed in the annex and therefore, while 
being  binding  upon  accession,  will  be  applicable  in  the  new  Member  States  only  following 
the Council Decision referred to above5. 

5 

With the exception of Annexes 1-3, 7, 8 and 15 of the Common Consular Instructions adopted under 
SCH/Com-ex (99) 13 Decision of the Executive Committee of the Schengen Convention in April 1999, 
which are both building upon and applicable by the new Member States as from their accession. 

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As regards the Schengen provisions on external borders, they are listed in that annex and are 
thus  binding  and  applicable  in  the  new  Member  States  as  from  accession  6.  Therefore  only 
Article 9 of the current proposal is applicable to the new Member States.  

5. 

ARTICLE-BY-ARTICLE COMMENTARY 

Article 1 

Article 1 defines the purpose of the Regulation, i.e. to grant a derogation with regard to visas 
for  members  of  the  Olympic  family  for  the  duration  of  the  2006  Olympic  and  Paralympic 
Winter Games: this is a derogation limited to those provisions of the acquis, which concern 
procedures for requesting a visa, issuing it and the format this visa would take.  

Article 2 

Article 2 defines the various terms used:  

Article 2(1) refers to the "responsible organisations" entrusted with proposing which persons 
may participate in the 2006 Olympic and/or Paralympic Winter Games. These organisations 
are  responsible  for  submitting  the  application  for  an  accreditation  card  for  participants, 
receiving accreditation cards and, where appropriate, amending the selection of participants.  

The  definition  of  persons  eligible  to  be  selected  as  members  of  the  Olympic  family 
(Article 2(2))  is  indicative,  listing  those  categories  of  persons,  which  are  usually  invited  to 
participate in the Olympic and/or Paralympic Games.  

Article 2(3) provides for two accreditation cards to be issued, one for the Olympic Games and 
the  other  for  the  Paralympic  Games.  The  technical  features  of  these  identity  documents  for 
each  member  of  the  Olympic  family  are  defined  by  the  Organising  Committee  of  the  2006 
Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in accordance with international security standards. 

The proposed definition of the duration of the derogation (Article 2(4)) is necessary in order 
to comply with the visa rules laid down by the acquis (stay of no more than three months in 
any six-month period), taking into account the indicative duration of the 2006 Olympic and 
Paralympic Winter Games as set out in the Olympic Charter. 

This  Article  (paragraphs  5  and  6)  also  defines  the  Organising  Committee  of  the  Olympic 
Games and the services responsible for issuing visas. 

Article 3 

The  conditions  to  be  met  by  members  of  the  Olympic  family  in  order  to  qualify  for  the 
proposed derogation are inspired by the conditions of entry laid down by Article 5(1) of the 
Schengen Convention but made more flexible to take account of the specific characteristics of 
participation in the Olympic and Paralympic Games (no need to demonstrate compliance with 
the conditions of the stay or to have sufficient means of subsistence). 

6 

With  the  exception  of  Article  5(1)(d)  of  the  Schengen  Convention,  related  to  the  consultation  of  the 
Schengen Information System. 

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Article 4 

This Article provides that the responsible organisations may, together with the application to 
the  Organising  Committee  of  the  2006  Olympic  and  Paralympic  Winter  Games  for  an 
accreditation card, submit a collective application for visas for the members of the Olympic 
family who are required to have a visa in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 539/2001. 

A  single  application  per  person  is  possible  for  the  entire  duration  of  the  Olympic  and 
Paralympic Games.  

It  is  the  Organising  Committee  of  the  2006  Olympic  and  Paralympic  Winter  Games  that 
forwards the collective application for visas as well as the documents relative to accreditation 
to the authorities responsible for examining visa applications.  

Article 5 

This  Article  defines  the  issuing  procedure,  stipulating  that  the  visa  is  issued  following 
verification  of  whether  the  conditions  mentioned  in  Article  3  have  been  met  (paragraph  1). 
The visa issued is a uniform short-stay, multiple-entry visa valid for three months. Within this 
period  of  validity,  the  visa  allows  the  holder  to  remain  in  Italy  and  the  other  Schengen 
countries.  It  also  authorises  the  holders  to transit  through  other  Schengen  countries  on  their 
way to Italy to participate in the 2006 Olympic and/or Paralympic Winter Games or from Italy 
after participating in them.  

The  Italian  authorities  may  issue  a  visa  with  limited  territorial  validity  to  members  of  the 
Olympic  family  who  do  not  fall  into  the  categories  set  out  in  Article  3  points  c)  and  d)  for 
instance those identified for the purposes of refusing entry or those posing a threat to public 
policy, the national security or the international relations of one of the Member States. 

This  possibility  of  issuing  a  visa  with  limited  territorial  validity  is  foreseen  in  Article  5, 
paragraph  2  of  the  Schengen  Convention,  which  envisages  in  a  general  manner  that  a  visa 
with limited territorial validity can be issued to the third country national who does not fulfil 
all entry conditions, where necessary on humanitarian grounds, on grounds of national interest 
or because of international obligations. 

Article 6 

The  competent  authorities  must  transmit  the  numbers  of  the  visas  issued  to  the  Organising 
Committee of the 2006 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, which then inserts the visa 
and passport number of the person concerned on the accreditation card.  

Article 7 

In view of the exceptional nature of this event and its purpose, the visa is to be issued free of 
charge to members of the Olympic family.  

Article 8 

This Article defines the procedure to be followed in the event that the selection made by the 
responsible  organisation  is  changed  at  the  last  minute.  Since  this  is  a  fairly  common,  albeit 
limited, practice, it is proposed that visas issued for persons who are no longer members of 
the Olympic family should be cancelled.  

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The visa issued should also be cancelled in case of loss or replacement of the passport of one 
of the participants. The Italian authorities must transmit information concerning cancellations 
to the competent authorities of the other Member States responsible for border checks.  

Having a visa cancelled in this way will not preclude the person concerned from being able to 
apply for a visa in accordance with the usual procedures. 

Article 9 

This  provision  lays  down  the  scope  of  border  checks  to  be  carried  out  on  members  of  the 
Olympic  family.  These  will  be  limited  to  verification  of  compliance  with  the  conditions  set 
out  in  Article  3  of  this  Regulation,  which  are  less  rigid  than  the  normal  rules  applicable  to 
checks at the external borders. 

Systematic indication of the way that entry and exit stamp must be affixed on the same page 
in the passport of the participants would enable the identification of the duration of the stay 
within the common area.  

All  members  of  the  Olympic  Family  participating  in  the  2006  Olympic  and  Paralympic 
Winter Games will benefit from the facilitated conditions regarding checks at external borders 
whether or not they have submitted a visa obligation or are exempt from it. 

Article 10 

The derogation arrangements will be assessed after the closure of the 2006 Paralympic Winter 
Games.  On  the  basis  of  the  report  submitted  by  Italy  four  months  after  that  date  and  any 
information  provided  by  other  Member States  within  the  same  time  limit,  the  Commission 
will inform the European Parliament and the Council on how these derogation arrangements 
worked. 

Article 11 

This  is  the  standard  final  provision  on  the  application  of  the  Regulation  by  Member  States 
fully implementing the Schengen acquis. 

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2005/0169 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

relating to measures envisaged to facilitate the procedures for applying for and issuing 
visas for members of the Olympic family taking part in the 2006 Olympic and /or 
Paralympic Winter Games in Torino  

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) points a) and b) ii) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission7, 

Acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 2518,  

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  1295/2003  of  15  July  2003  relating  to  measures 
envisaged to facilitate the procedures for applying for and issuing visas for members 
of the Olympic family taking part in the Olympic or Paralympic Games in Athens9 set 
up a specific temporary system derogating from the normal visa issuing procedures for 
the members of the Olympic family participating in the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, 
to  enable  Greece  to  host  the  first  Olympic  and  Paralympic  Games  organised  by  a 
Member State being part of the Schengen area without internal borders and in order to 
allow Greece to respect its obligation under the Olympic Charter. 

Regulation (EC) No 1295/2003 foresaw specific provisions facilitating the procedures 
for  submitting  applications  for  uniform  visas and  the  form  in  which  visas  are  issued 
for  the  members  of  the  Olympic  family,  as  well  as  simplification  of  external  border 
controls  for  this  category  of  persons.  It  included  an  evaluation  clause  and  the 
transmission by the Commission of a report to this purpose to the European Parliament 
and Council.  

In  its  evaluation,  the  Commission  concluded  that  the  implementation  of  Regulation 
(EC)  No  1295/2003  was  successful,  and  the  derogation  system  has  been  considered 
effective, flexible and adequate for regulating the entry and short stay of the members 
of the Olympic family participating in the  Games,  within  the Schengen  area without 
internal borders.  

7 
8 
9 

OJ C […] […], p.[…] 
OJ C […] […], p.[…] 
OJ L 183, 22.7.2003, p.1.  

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(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

Therefore the European Union should adopt a similar derogation system for the 2006 
Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games to allow Italy to honour as hosting country its 
Olympic Chapter obligations, while ensuring a high level of security in the Schengen 
area without internal borders. 

Although  the  visa  obligation  is  maintained  for  members  of  the  Olympic  family  who 
are  nationals  of  third  countries  subject  to  the  visa  requirement  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 
whose nationals are exempt from that requirement10, a temporary derogation should be 
established for the duration of the 2006 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.  

The  scope  of  this  derogation  should  be  limited  to  the  provisions  of  the  acquis 
concerning the submission of visa applications, the issuing of visas and their format. 
Equally, the methods of controlling the external borders should be adapted within the 
limits necessary to take into account changes in the visa system. 

Visa applications for members of the Olympic family taking part in the 2006 Olympic 
and Paralympic Winter Games, should be submitted to the Organizing Committee of 
the 2006 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games via the organisations responsible at 
the same time as the application for accreditation. The accreditation application form 
shall contain basic data relating to the persons concerned, such as their name, sex, date 
and place of birth, passport number, its type and expiry date, as well as indication of 
possession of a residence permit issued by a Schengen State, type and expiry date of 
such  document.  These  applications  should  be  forwarded  to  the  Italian  services 
responsible for issuing visas.  

The Organizing Committee of the 2006 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games issues 
accreditation cards to members of the Olympic family, in conformity with the specific 
rules defined by Italian law. The accreditation card is a highly secure document, which 
gives  access  to  the  specific  sites  where  competitions  are  held  and  to  other  events 
planned during the Olympic and Paralympic Games, in view of the fact that the Games 
may be the target of terrorist attacks. The visa issued is affixed by means of entering a 
number in the accreditation card. 

(9) 

Irrespective of the provisions of this Regulation, members of the Olympic family may 
still submit individual applications for visas in accordance with the relevant Schengen 
acquis. 

(10)  Where no specific provisions are laid down in this Regulation, the relevant provisions 
of the Schengen acquis on visas and controls at Member States' external borders will 
apply.  This  Regulation  does  not  apply  to  members  of  the  Olympic  family  who  are 
nationals  of  third  countries  subject  to  a  visa  requirement  and  holders  of  a  residence 
permit  or  a  provisional  residence  permit  issued  by  one  of  the  Member  States  fully 
implementing  the  Schengen  acquis.  For  any  stay  within  the  common  area  whose 
duration is envisage to exceed 90 days, a temporary residence permit can be issued to 
the Member of the Olympic family in compliance with the Italian law.  

10 

OJ  L  81,  21.3.2001,  p.1.  Regulation  as  last  amended  by  Regulation  (EC)  No  851/2005  (OJ  L  141, 
4.6.2005, p.3).  

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(11)  Provision  should  be  made  for  an  evaluation  of  the  implementation  of  the  derogation 
arrangements established by this Regulation after the closure of the 2006 Paralympic 
Winter Games. 

(12) 

in  accordance  with 

the  Olympic  family  and 

In accordance with the principle of proportionality, it is necessary and appropriate for 
the  achievement  of  the  main  objective  of  facilitating  the  issuing  of  visas  to  the 
members  of 
the  principle  of 
proportionality,  to  adopt  this  temporary  derogation  from  certain  provisions  of  the 
Schengen acquis. This regulation does not go beyond what is necessary to achieve the 
envisaged  objective,  in  conformity  with  Article  5  paragraph  3  of  the  EC  Treaty.  As 
regards  the  Republic  of  Iceland  and  the  Kingdom  of  Norway,  this  Regulation 
constitutes  a  development  of  the  provisions  of  the  Schengen  acquis  and  thus  falls 
within  the  area  defined  in  Article  1  (B)  of  Council  Decision  1999/437/EC  of 
17 May 1999 on certain arrangements for the application of the Agreement concluded 
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.11  

(13) 

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 
Regulation  and  is  therefore  not  bound  by  it  or  subject  to  its  application.  However, 
since this Regulation builds upon the Schengen acquis under Title IV of Part Three of 
the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Community,  Denmark  will,  in  accordance  with 
Article 5 of that Protocol, decide within a period of six months after the Council has 
adopted this Regulation whether or not it will implement it in its national law. 

(14)  This  Regulation  constitutes  a  development  of  the  Schengen  acquis,  in  which  the 
United Kingdom does not take part in accordance with Articles 4 and 5 of the Protocol 
integrating the Schengen acquis into the framework of the European Union, annexed 
to  the  Treaty  on  European  Union  and  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European 
Community,  so  that  the  United  Kingdom  is  not  taking  part  in  the  adoption  of  this 
Regulation and is not bound by it or subject to its application. 

(15)  This  Regulation  constitutes  a  development  of  the  Schengen acquis,  in  which  Ireland 
does not take part in accordance with Articles 4 and 5 of the Protocol integrating the 
Schengen acquis into the framework of the European Union, annexed to the Treaty on 
European  Union  and  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Community,  so  that 
Ireland is not taking part in the adoption of this Regulation and is not bound by it or 
subject to its application. 

(16)  As regards Switzerland, this Regulation constitutes a development of the provisions of 
the  Schengen  acquis  within  the  meaning  of  the  Agreement  signed  by  the  European 
Union,  the  European  Community  and  the  Swiss  Confederation  on  the  latter’s 
association  with  the  implementation,  application  and  development  of  the  Schengen 
acquis  which  falls  within  the  area  referred  to  in  Article  4(1)  of  Council  Decision 
2004/860/EC  of  25  October  2004  on  the  signing,  on  behalf  of  the  European 

11 

OJ L 176, 10.7.1999, p. 31. 

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13 

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Community,  and  on  the  provisional  application  of  certain  provisions,  of  this 
Agreement12. 

(17)  All provisions of this Regulation, with the exception of Article 9, constitute provisions 
building  on  the  Schengen  acquis  or  otherwise  related  to  it  within  the  meaning  of 
Article 3(2) of the 2003 Act of Accession, 

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Chapter I 

PURPOSE AND DEFINITIONS  

Article 1 

Purpose  

This  Regulation  establishes  specific  provisions  introducing  a  temporary  derogation  from 
certain  provisions  of  the  Schengen  acquis  concerning  the  procedures  for  applying  for  and 
issuing visas as well as the uniform format of visas for members of the Olympic family for 
the duration of the 2006 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Apart from these specific 
provisions, the relevant provisions of the Schengen acquis concerning procedures for applying 
for and issuing the uniform visa shall remain in force. 

Article 2 

Definitions 

For the purposes of this Regulation: 

1. 

2. 

"Responsible  organisations"  relating  to  measures  envisaged  to  facilitate  the 
procedures  for  applying  for  and  issuing  visas  for  members  of  the  Olympic  family 
taking part in the 2006 Olympic and/or Paralympic Winter Games means the official 
organisations, in terms of the Olympic Charter, which are entitled to submit lists of 
members of the Olympic family to the Organising Committee of the 2006 Olympic 
and Paralympic Winter Games with a view to the issue of accreditation cards for the 
Games; 

"Member  of  the  Olympic  family"  means  any  persons  who  are  members  of  the 
International  Olympic  Committee, 
the  International  Paralympic  Committee, 
International  Federations,  the  National  Olympic  and  Paralympic  Committees,  the 
Organising Committees of the Olympic Games and the national associations, such as 
athletes,  judges/referees,  coaches  and  other  sports  technicians,  medical  personnel 

12 

OJ L 370, 17.12.2004, p. 78. 

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attached  to  teams  or  individual  sportsmen/women  and  media-accredited  journalists, 
senior executives, donors, sponsors or other official invitees, who agree to be guided 
by  the  Olympic  Charter,  act  under  the  control  and  supreme  authority  of  the 
International  Olympic  Committee,  are  included  on  the  lists  of  the  responsible 
organisations and are accredited by the Organising Committee of the 2006 Olympic 
and  Paralympic  Games  as  participants  in  the  2006  Olympics  and/or  Paralympic 
Games; 

"Olympic  accreditation  cards"  issued  by  the  Organising  Committee  of  the  2006 
Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, in accordance with Article… of the Italian 
Law…/… means one of two secure documents, one for the Olympic Games and one 
for  the  Paralympic  Games,  bearing  a  photograph  of  its  holder,  establishing  the 
identity of the member of the Olympic family and authorising access to the facilities 
at which competitions are held and to other events scheduled during the period of the 
Games; 

"Duration of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games" means the period from 10 
January 2006 to 26 March 2006 for the 2006 Winter Olympic Games and the period 
from 10 February 2006 to 19 April 2006 for the 2006 Winter Paralympic Games; 

"Organising Committee of the 2006 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games" means 
the  Committee  set  up  on  27  December  1999  in  accordance  with  Article  12  of  the 
Italian  Civil  Code  (RD  16/3/1942  n.  262)  to  organise  the  2006  Olympic  and 
Paralympic Winter Games in Torino, which decides on accreditation of members of 
the Olympic family taking part in those Games; 

"Services  responsible  for  issuing  visas"  means  the  services  designated  in  Italy  to 
examine applications and issue visas to members of the Olympic family. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

Chapter II 

ISSUE OF VISAS 

Article 3 

Conditions  

A visa may be issued pursuant to this Regulation only where the person concerned: 

a) 

b) 

has  been  designated  by  one  of  the  responsible  organisations  and  accredited  by  the 
Organising  Committee  of  the  2006  Olympic  and  Paralympic  Winter  Games  as  a 
participant in the 2006 Olympic and/or Paralympic Games; 

holds  a  valid  travel  document  authorising  the  crossing  of  the  external  borders,  as 
referred  to  in  Article  5  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 

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on the gradual abolition of checks at their common borders (hereinafter referred to as 
the “Schengen Convention”)13; 

is not a person for whom an alert has been issued for the purposes of refusing entry; 

is not considered to be a threat to public policy, national security or the international 
relations of one of the Member States. 

Article 4 

Filing of the application 

Where a responsible organisation draws up a list of the persons selected to take part 
in  the  2006  Olympic  and/or  Paralympic  Winter  Games,  it  may,  together  with  the 
application  for  an  Olympic  accreditation  card  for  the  persons  selected,  file  a 
collective application for visas for those persons selected who are required to be in 
possession of a visa in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 539/2001, except when 
those persons are holders of a residence permit issued by a Schengen Member State.  

Collective applications for visas for the persons concerned shall be forwarded at the 
same  time  as  applications  for  the  issue  of  an  Olympic  accreditation  card  to  the 
Organising  Committee  of  the  2006  Olympic  and  Paralympic  Winter  Games  in 
accordance with the procedure established by it. 

A single visa application per person shall be filled for persons taking part in the 2006 
Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. 

The Organising Committee of the 2006 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games shall 
forward to the services responsible for issuing visas collective applications for visas 
as  quickly  as  possible,  together  with  copies  of  applications  for  the  issue  of  an 
Olympic  accreditation  card  for  the  persons  concerned,  bearing  their  full  name, 
nationality,  sex,  date  and  place  of  birth,  passport  number,  type  and  expiry  date 
thereof.  

Article 5 

Examination of the collective application for visas and type of the visa issued  

The visa shall be issued by the services responsible for the issue of visas following 
an examination designed to ensure that the conditions set out in Article 3 are met.  

The visa issued shall be a uniform short-stay, multiple entry visa authorising a stay of 
not  more  than  ninety  (90)  days  for  the  duration  of  the  2006  Olympics  and/or 
Paralympic Winter Games. 

OJ L 239, 22.9.2000, p.19. Convention as last amended by Council Decision 2005/211/JHA (OJ L 68, 
15.3.2005, p. 44).  

c) 

d) 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

1. 

2. 

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3. 

1. 

2. 

Where the member of the Olympic family concerned does not meet the conditions set 
out in Article 3 c) or d), the services responsible for issuing visas may issue a visa 
with  limited  territorial  validity  in  conformity  with  Article  16  of  the  Schengen 
Convention. 

Article 6 

Form of the visa 

The  visa  shall  take  the  form  of  two  numbers  being  entered  on  the  Olympic 
accreditation  card.  The  first  number  shall  be  the  visa  number.  In  the  case  of  a 
uniform visa, this number shall be made up of seven (7) characters comprising six (6) 
digits preceded by the letter "C". In the case of a visa with limited territorial validity, 
this  number  shall  be  made  up  of  eight  (8)  characters  comprising  six  (6)  digits 
preceded by the letters "IT". The second number shall be the number of the passport 
of the person concerned.  

The  services  responsible  for  issuing  visas  shall  forward  the  visa  numbers  to  the 
Organising Committee of the 2006 Olympic and  Paralympic  Winter  Games  for  the 
purposes of issuing accreditation cards.  

Article 7 

Waiver of Fees  

The processing of visa applications and the issue of visas shall not give rise to any fees being 
charged by the services responsible for issuing visas. 

Chapter III 

General and Final provisions 

Article 8 

Cancellation of a visa 

Where the list of persons put forward as participants in the 2006 Olympic and/or Paralympic 
Winter Games is amended before the Games begin, the responsible organisations shall inform 
without  any  delay  the  Organising  Committee  of  the  2006  Olympic  and  Paralympic  Winter 
Games  thereof  so  that  the  accreditation  cards  of  the  persons  removed  from  the  list  can  be 
revoked.  The  Organising  Committee  shall  then  inform  the  services  responsible  for  issuing 
visas thereof, notifying the numbers of the visas in question.  

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17 

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The  services  responsible  for  issuing  visas  shall  cancel  the  visas  of  the  persons  concerned. 
They shall immediately inform the authorities responsible for border checks thereof, and the 
latter  shall  without  delay  forward  this  information  to  the  competent  authorities  of  the  other 
Member States. 

Article 9 

External border checks 

1. 

When  crossing  the  external  borders  of  the  Member  States  the  entry  checks  carried 
out  on  members  of  the  Olympic  family  who  have  been  issued  visas  in  accordance 
with this Regulation shall be limited to verifying compliance with the conditions set 
out in Article 3.  

2. 

For the duration of the Winter Olympic and/or Paralympic Games: 

a) 

entry and exit stamps shall be affixed to the first free page of the passport of 
those  members  of  the  Olympic  family  for  whom  it  is  necessary  to  affix  such 
stamps  in  compliance  with  Regulation  (EC)No  2133/2004  of  13  December 
2004 on the requirement for the competent authorities of the Member States to 
stamp systematically the travel document of third country nationals when they 
cross the external borders of the Member States and amending the provisions 
of  the  Convention  implementing  the  Schengen  agreement  and  the  common 
manual  to this endUpon first  entry the visa number shall be indicated on this 
same page;  

b) 

the conditions for entry provided in Article 5(1)(c) of the Schengen Convention 
shall  be  presumed  to  be  fulfilled  once  a  member  of  the  Olympic  family  has 
been accredited.  

3. 

The provisions of paragraph 2 shall apply to members of the Olympic family who are 
third-country nationals, whether or not they are subject to the visa requirement under 
Regulation (EC) No 539/2001. 

Article 10 

Information for the European Parliament and the Council 

Not later than four months after the closure of the 2006 Paralympic Winter Games, Italy shall 
transmit  to  the  Commission  a  report  on  the  various  aspects  of  the  implementation  of  the 
provisions of this Regulation. 

On the basis of this report and any information supplied by other Member States within the 
same  time  limit,  the  Commission  shall  draw  up  an  assessment  of  the  functioning  of  the 
derogation in respect of the issuing of visas to members of the Olympic family, as provided 
for by this Regulation, and shall inform the European Parliament and the Council thereof. 

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Article 11 

Entry into force 

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

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. 

Done at Brussels,  

For the European Parliament 
The President 

For the Council 
The President 

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