Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on cases where visa waiver non-reciprocity is maintained by certain third countries in accordance with Article 1(5) of Council 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, as amended by Regulation (EC) No 851/2005 as regards the reciprocity mechanism
Date: 2006-10-03
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Australia, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Costa Rica, EU visa policy, Malaysia, Paraguay, Singapore, United States, Uruguay, report

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 3.10.2006 
COM(2006) 568 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND 
THE COUNCIL 

on cases where visa waiver non-reciprocity is maintained by certain third countries 

in accordance with Article 1(5) of Council 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, as amended by 
Regulation (EC) No 851/2005 as regards the reciprocity mechanism 

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 

I. 

II. 

1. 

1.1. 

1.2. 

2. 

Introduction .................................................................................................................. 3 

Results achieved since the Commission’s first report on reciprocity .......................... 4 

Full reciprocity now in place ....................................................................................... 4 

Uruguay....................................................................................................................... 4 

Costa Rica ................................................................................................................... 4 

Steps to achieve reciprocity ongoing ........................................................................... 5 

2.1. 

Brazil ........................................................................................................................... 5 

2.2.  Malaysia ...................................................................................................................... 5 

3. 

3.1. 

3.2. 

3.3. 

4. 

4.1. 

4.2. 

5. 

The solution of the non-reciprocity problems has been announced but is yet to be put 
into practice.................................................................................................................. 6 

Paraguay ..................................................................................................................... 6 

Singapore .................................................................................................................... 7 

Brunei .......................................................................................................................... 7 

Progress on reciprocity has been made since the report of 10 January 2006............... 8 

Canada ........................................................................................................................ 8 

Australia.................................................................................................................... 10 

No progress has been made on reciprocity since the report of 10 January 2006 ....... 13 

5.1. 

United States of America ......................................................................................... 13 

III. 

Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 15 

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I. 

INTRODUCTION 

Council Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 of 15 March 2001 is at the heart of the common EU 
visa  policy,  listing  the  third  countries  whose  nationals  must  be  in  possession  of  visas  when 
crossing the external borders of the Member States (Annex I to the Regulation, the “negative 
list”)  and  those  whose  nationals  are  exempt  from  that  requirement  (Annex  II  to  the 
Regulation,  the  “positive  list”)1.  It  was  substantially  modified  by  Regulation  (EC)  No 
851/2005 of 2 June 2005, which introduced a new reciprocity mechanism. The aim of the new 
mechanism  is  to  establish  through  appropriate  measures  reciprocity  towards  third  countries 
still  requiring  a  visa  from  citizens  of  certain  Member  States  for  stays  of  less  than  90  days 
while  the  Community  does  not  apply  such  visa  requirements  towards  the  citizens  of  those 
third  countries.  Regulation  (EC)  No  851/2005  allows  the  visa  requirement  to  be  introduced 
provisionally  vis-à-vis  the  countries  concerned.  In  addition,  a  joint  declaration  made  by  the 
Council and the Commission when Regulation (EC) No 851/2005 was adopted refers to the 
possibility  of  taking  other  provisional  measures,  particularly  in  the  political,  economic  and 
commercial fields2. 

Pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 851/2005 and in the light of notifications by Member States 
of  cases  of  non-reciprocity,  the  Commission  on  10  January  2006  presented  a  report  to  the 
Council  on  visa  waiver  reciprocity  with  certain  third  countries3.  This  report  described  the 
Commission’s approaches towards the countries on the positive list that continued to require a 
visa  from  Member  State  nationals  and  listed  the  results  obtained.  In  view  of  the  progress 
achieved, the Commission concluded that there was no need at that stage to include with the 
report  a  proposal  for  temporary  restoration  of  the  visa  requirement  or  for  measures  such  as 
those contained in the Council and Commission joint declaration. However, for the purposes 
of  the  second  report,  the  Commission  stated  that  it  would  monitor  whether  the  solutions 
announced by certain third countries had been put into practice and whether further dialogue 
with others had opened up the prospect of reciprocal visa-free travel. 

In its conclusions of 21 February 2006, the Council endorsed the Commission’s analysis and 
urged it to strengthen its efforts with the United States, Canada and Australia and to monitor 
progress with the other third countries concerned.  

This report, presented to the European Parliament and to the Council pursuant to Article 1(5) 
of  Regulation  (EC)  No  539/2001,  as  worded  in  Article  1  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  851/2005, 
takes  stock  of  the  approaches  made  by  the  Commission  since  the  adoption  of  the  Council 
conclusions of 21 February vis-à-vis the third countries on the positive list which continue to 
require visas from Member State nationals.  

1 
2 
3 

OJ L 81, 21.3.2001, p. 1. 
OJ C 172, 12.7.2005, p. 1. 
COM (2006) 3 final. 

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II. 

RESULTS ACHIEVED SINCE THE COMMISSION’S FIRST REPORT ON RECIPROCITY 

In the days following its adoption, the Commission’s report of 10 January 2006 was sent by 
note verbale to the authorities of the various third countries concerned. 

Following the Council’s endorsement on 21 February 2006 of the approach proposed in the 
concluding part of its report, the Commission was able to actively resume its efforts and work 
on obtaining reciprocity.  

In close cooperation with the Member States, the Commission held an intensive dialogue with 
the  authorities  of  the  third  countries  concerned. With  particular  regard  to  Australia,  Canada 
and the United States, the Commission organised a technical meeting on 23 March 2006 with 
representatives  of  the  Member  States  concerned  in  order  to  assess  the  state  of  the  dialogue 
between them and the three third countries in question and the results of the  dialogue.  That 
meeting took place in advance of the high-level contacts scheduled between the Commission 
and the authorities of the three countries over the following weeks.  

1. 

Full reciprocity now in place 

1.1. 

Uruguay 

Results of contacts with the Uruguayan authorities  

The  Estonian  authorities  notified  the  Commission  on  16  January  2006  that  Uruguay  had 
abolished the visa requirement for Estonian nationals for stays of up to three months. 

Assessment 

Full visa waiver reciprocity has now been achieved vis-à-vis all the Member States.  

1.2. 

Costa Rica 

Steps taken to achieve reciprocity 

The Commission drew the attention of the Costa Rican authorities to the maintenance of the 
visa requirement vis-à-vis nationals of Iceland and was told that Iceland would soon enjoy the 
same status. An amendment of the “General Rules” to that effect has been announced.  

In  response  to  a  Commission  note  verbale  of  15  June  2006,  the  Costa  Rican  authorities 
confirmed by memo of 20 July that reciprocity was now ensured, including vis-à-vis Iceland. 

Assessment 

Full visa waiver reciprocity has now  been achieved vis-à-vis all the Member States and the 
Schengen countries. 

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2. 

Steps to achieve reciprocity ongoing 

2.1. 

Brazil 

Current situation 

Visa requirement maintained vis-à-vis nationals of Austria, Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania 
and Malta.  

The Czech Republic informed the Council and the Commission that the agreement concluded 
with  Brazil  on  29  April  2004  on  abolishing  the  visa  requirement  had  come  into  force  on 
3 October 2005. 

Steps taken to achieve reciprocity  

The Brazilian authorities have already formally expressed and confirmed their political will to 
waive the visa requirement for nationals of the Member States still subject to the requirement 
and  in  2005  sent  the  Commission  a  draft  agreement  to  be  concluded  with  the  European 
Community for the purpose of lifting the visa requirement for citizens of the Member States 
referred to above.  

In  its  first  report,  the  Commission  noted  that  the  Community’s  exclusive  competence  in 
relation  to  the  visa  requirement  and  waiver  precluded  the  conclusion  of  a  visa  waiver 
agreement  between  the  EC  and  Brazil  which  would  apply  only  to  a  limited  number  of 
Member States.  

In  its  conclusions  on  the  Commission  report  of  21  February  2006,  the  Council  welcomed 
Brazil’s  political  commitment  and  invited  the  Commission  to  submit  as  soon  as  possible  a 
recommendation to the Council to open negotiations with Brazil on a visa waiver agreement 
between  the  European  Community  and  Brazil.  The  Commission  is  currently  preparing  that 
recommendation.  This  will  be  the  first  time  that  a  bilateral  visa  waiver  agreement  has  been 
negotiated between the Community and a third country.  

Assessment 

The Brazilian authorities have stressed their commitment to ensure full reciprocity in relation 
to  visas.  As  soon  as  a  number  of  problems  relating  to  complications  arising  from  the 
Community’s  legal  order  have  been  resolved,  in  particular  regarding  the  length  of  the  short 
stay authorised under a visa waiver, the Commission will submit the above recommendation 
with a view to opening negotiations with Brazil. 

2.2. 

Malaysia 

Current situation: visa waiver limited to stays of less than 30 days for nationals of Cyprus, 
Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal and Slovenia.  

Steps taken to achieve reciprocity  

In  a  letter  to  the  Commission  dated  6  February  2006,  Malaysia’s  Mission  to  the  European 
Union  confirmed  the  Malaysian  authorities’  intention  to  settle  the  outstanding  reciprocity 
issues. 

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As  it  had  received  no  subsequent  official  communication  on  this  subject,  the  Commission 
reminded  the  Malaysian  authorities,  by  note  verbale  dated  1  June  2006,  of  the  continuing 
non-reciprocity problems vis-à-vis the Member States concerned and invited them to inform it 
of the current situation in view of the second report to be presented in July 2006. 

By  a  letter  dated  24  August  2006  the  Malaysian  authorities  informed  the  Commission  that 
they are committing themselves to restore up to three months visa-free stay for the citizens of 
all these Member States. This will happen in two stages. The first stage is already in course of 
implementation as they are currently making all the necessary administrative arrangements to 
grant  a  three  months  visa-free  stay  for  the  citizens  of  Greece,  Portugal,  Cyprus,  Latvia  and 
Malta. Nevertheless, the visa-free stay will remain up to one month for the citizens of Estonia, 
Lithuania  and  Slovenia.  According  to  their  letter,  the  Malaysian  authorities  claim  that  these 
Member States do not grant a visa-free stay for Malaysian citizens or they are granting a visa-
free stay limited to fourteen days. They state that the restoration of the visa-free stay for three 
months  will  happen  by  the  time  these  Member  States  introduce  the  visa-free  stay  for  three 
months for Malaysian citizens.  

Assessment 

The Commission welcomes the progress of Malaysia to restore visa reciprocity by granting a 
visa-free  stay  of  three  months  for  all  Member  States.  In  particular  it  welcomes  the 
administrative  arrangements  in  order  to  restore  visa  reciprocity  for  the  citizens  of  Greece, 
Portugal,  Cyprus,  Latvia  and  Malta.  Furthermore,  the  Commission  is  examining  the  claims 
concerning Estonia, Lithuania and Slovenia. At the time of drafting the report already two of 
these three Member States have confirmed to the Commission that the claims are not founded 
as they are indeed granting a visa-free stay of up to three months for Malaysian citizens.  

The Commission will continue the examination of the Malaysian claims and will take all the 
appropriate steps to explain to the Malaysian authorities the actual situation as regards these 
three  Member  States  and  to  restore  visa-free  stay  of  three  months  for  the  citizens  of  these 
Member States as well, at the earliest possible time. 

3. 

The solution of the non-reciprocity problems has been announced but is yet to 
be put into practice 

3.1. 

Paraguay 

Current situation  

Visa requirement maintained vis-à-vis nationals of Iceland.  

Steps taken to achieve reciprocity 

The Paraguayan authorities have notified the Commission that the outstanding problem will 
be settled by executive decree. 

As it had not received official confirmation that the decree had been signed, the Commission 
officially  reminded  the  Paraguayan  authorities  of  the  continuing  non-reciprocity  situation 
vis-à-vis Icelandic nationals by note verbale dated 5 June 2006.  

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Assessment 

The  materialisation  of  the  announced  measure  needs  to  be  verified  and,  as  necessary, 
accompanied by an examination of the appropriate ways forward to ensure full reciprocity. 4  

3.2. 

Singapore 

Current  situation:  visa  waiver  limited  to  stays  of  30  days,  but  the  stay  may  be  extended 
locally by two periods of 30 days. 

In  its  report  of  10  January  2006,  drawn  up  on  the  basis  of  the  information  available  in 
December 2005, the Commission gave a positive assessment of the arrangements applicable 
in  Singapore  (visa  waiver  on  entry  for  stays  of  30  days;  simple  procedure  for  two  30-day 
extensions), in particular in view of the equal treatment of all nationals exempt from the visa 
obligation, the easy procedure for visa-free prolongation of stay and the size of the country. 
However,  the  Commission  has  since  learnt  of  three  additional  factors:  US  and  Australian 
citizens are eligible for visa waivers for stays of up to 90 days; the length of stay under a visa 
waiver varies according to the type of transport used to reach Singapore; local extension of 
the stay gives rise to a number of practical problems.  

Steps taken to achieve reciprocity  

The  Commission  drew  the  Singapore  authorities’  attention  to  the  new  factors  mentioned 
above by note verbale dated 2 June 2006 and invited them to inform it of the current situation 
ahead of its second report.  

Assessment 

The  information  subsequently  received  by  the  Commission  casts  doubt  on  the  positive 
assessment  given  in  the  report  of  10  January  2006.  The  fact  that  nationals  of  two  third 
countries  are  eligible  for  a  90-day  visa  waiver,  in  particular,  is  an  important  factor  in  the 
assessment of the visa waiver arrangements allowed to EU citizens.  

A final assessment can be given only once the information to be provided by the Singapore 
authorities has been analysed.  

3.3. 

Brunei 

Current situation  

Visa  requirement  maintained  vis-à-vis  nationals  of  the  Czech  Republic,  Estonia,  Finland, 
Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta and Portugal. 

Stay under visa waiver limited to 14 days for nationals of Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, France, 
Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden. 

4 

On  27.9.2006  the  Commission  received  a  copy  of  the  Presidential  Decree  No  8065  of  21.8.2006 
exempting citizens of Iceland from the visa requirement for a stay up to 90 days. With regard to the date 
the communication was received, it has not been possible, due to technical reasons, to change the report 
accordingly. 

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Stay under visa waiver limited to 30 days for nationals of Austria, Germany, Greece and the 
Netherlands.  

The  first  Commission  report  stated  that  “although  a  visa-free  stay  of  less  than  90  days  for 
citizens of Member States (and with the same period of stay for all Member States’ citizens) 
cannot  be  considered  a  granting  of  full  reciprocity,  Brunei  offered  to  apply  as  favourable 
conditions  to  all  EU  citizens  as  it  applies  vis-à-vis  its  closest  Asian  partners.  The  equal 
treatment between Member States would thus be guaranteed.” 

Steps taken to achieve reciprocity 

Contacts  have  been  made  at  technical  level.  The  Commission  has  been  informed  that  the 
problem had been brought to the attention of the Brunei authorities at ministerial level and a 
solution to the problem was thought possible. 

On receiving  no official  confirmation  of a willingness to  take steps towards reciprocity, the 
Commission  officially  reminded  the  Brunei  authorities  of  the  continuation  of  the  above 
non-reciprocity  situations  by  note  verbale  dated  1  June  2006.  By  note  verbale  dated  6  July 
2006, the Brunei authorities requested a three-week extension of the time-limit for submitting 
their  views  on  the  subject.  By  subsequent  note  verbale  dated  10  July  2006,  the  Brunei 
authorities stated that the Government of Brunei agreed in principle to granting a visa waiver 
for all Member State nationals for stays of up to 30 days and requested a three-week extension 
of the time-limit for informing the Commission when the waiver would enter into force.  

Assessment 

In  the  light  of  the  latest  note  verbale  from  the  Brunei  authorities,  a  solution  that  would 
guarantee all Member State nationals equal  treatment appears imminent. A final assessment 
cannot be given until the Brunei authorities have demonstrated their intentions. 

4. 

Progress on reciprocity has been made since the report of 10 January 2006 

4.1. 

Canada 

Current situation  

Visa  requirement  maintained  vis-à-vis  nationals  of  the  Czech  Republic,  Estonia,  Hungary, 
Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia. 

In  its  first  report,  the  Commission  commented  that  Canada  had  engaged  in  a  dialogue  on 
establishing  a  reciprocal  visa  waiver  system,  but  without  any  real  progress  being  made.  It 
noted that the dialogue initiated with Canada must continue but that it should become more 
results-oriented.  It  wanted  a  transparent  process  establishing  clear  benchmarks  that  led  to  a 
visa waiver for the citizens of all Member States. 

Steps taken to achieve reciprocity  

Since the first report, numerous meetings have taken place between Canada and the Member 
States and between Canada and the Commission. 

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The  Canadian  authorities  have  sent  the  Member  States  concerned  information  and  data 
relating  to  non-respect  of  the  criteria  for  visa  waiver;  they  have  also  expressed  their 
willingness to clarify further the relevant criteria and conditions to be met. 

Further  to  the  numerous  meetings  referred  to  above,  the  Canadian  authorities  sent  the 
Commission a letter on 28 June 2006 stating the following:  

"…I wish to confirm that Canada is committed to seeing the new Member States achieve visa 
exempt status. Furthermore, Canada and the European Commission share a strategic interest 
in  closer  cooperation  on  international  migration.  In  this  context,  we  are  very  supportive  of 
establishing a regular and sustained dialogue with the European Commission. 

To move forward on this front we propose a framework for cooperation between Citizenship 
and  Immigration  Canada  and  the  European  Commission's  Directorate  General  for  Justice, 
Freedom and Security… 

A key forum  under this new framework would be a working group to inform  the  review of 
visa requirements… 

Canada is committed to making its visa review process more transparent and to providing the 
European Commission and the new Member States with more information on the thresholds 
related to visa exemption and imposition. As we discussed at our meeting last May, enhanced 
information  sharing  will  contribute  significantly  to  Canada's  ability  to  assess  conditions  in 
member states of the European Union. 

As you know, the factors on which visa exemption and re-imposition decisions are currently 
based include: 

•  consistently  low  rates  of  refusal  of  requests  for  Canadian  visas  over  an  extended  period 

from nationals of the country under review; 

•  co-operation  and  information  sharing  by  the  country  under  review  on  migration  and  law 

enforcement issues such as removals and police investigations; 

•  low levels of organized crime in Canada linked to the source country; 

•  low  levels  of  passport  abuse  or  evidence  of  corruption  in  the  issuance  of  the  country's 

documents; and, 

•  no  influx  in  non-bona  fide  asylum  seekers  from  the  source  country  or  travelling  on  the 

source country's documents. 

Citizenship  and  Immigration  Canada  is  currently  working  to  bring  more  clarity  to  these 
thresholds… 

Finally,  I  would  also  like  to  confirm  that  Canada  has  begun  consultations  to  lift  the  visa 
requirement on one new Member State and to receive assurances for enhanced collaboration 
on  migration  integrity  efforts.  It  is  Canada's  expectation  that  these  consultations  will  be 
completed quickly". 

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Assessment 

Although  all  the  non-reciprocity  problems  with  Canada  have  not  yet  been  resolved,  the 
Commission considers that the commitments made by the Canadian authorities in their letter 
of 28 June and the first concrete step represent tangible progress: 

–  The contacts between Canada and Estonia since 29 June have resulted in the decision by 
the Canadian Government to waive the temporary resident visas for Estonian nationals as 
from  27  September  2006.  This  provides  very  clear  confirmation  of  the  Canadian 
Government’s  will  to  meet  the  common  objective  of  reciprocity  with  all  the  Member 
States; 

–  The introduction of a new framework for dialogue on this subject, combined with greater 
transparency  with  respect  to  the  criteria  and  conditions  to  be  met  by  the  Member  States 
concerned to be eligible for the visa waiver, will allow them to make more rapid progress 
towards achieving that objective. 

The  Commission  does  not  therefore  find  at  this  stage  that  measures  need  to  be  considered 
against Canada, having regard to in particular the materialisation of the first commitment by 
the  Canadian  authorities  referred  to  above.  Regarding  the  second  commitment,  the 
Commission will ensure, together with Canada, that any Member State meeting the objective 
criteria has the benefit of the visa waiver as soon as possible. 

4.2. 

Australia 

Current situation  

Australia requires an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) from nationals of 14 Member States 
(Belgium,  Denmark,  Germany,  Greece,  Spain,  France,  Italy,  Luxembourg,  Malta, 
Netherlands,  Austria,  Portugal,  Finland  and  Sweden),  as  well  as  of  the  associated  States  of 
Iceland and Norway.  

An  eVisa  (e676)  is  required  of  the  nationals  of  nine  Member  States  (the  Czech  Republic, 
Estonia,  Cyprus,  Latvia,  Lithuania,  Hungary,  Poland,  Slovenia  and  Slovakia).  Nationals  of 
three of the above, i.e. Estonia, Latvia and Slovenia, can use the “autogrant facility”.  

Steps taken to achieve reciprocity  

Further  to  the  findings  of  its  report  of  10  January  2006,  the  Commission  has  set  out,  in  its 
contacts  with  the  Member  States  and  Australia,  to  examine  more  closely  the  reasons  put 
forward by the Australian authorities to justify maintaining the current electronic visa system 
(see point 3.1 in the report of 10 January 2006): 

–  In the case of three Member States it is not possible to distinguish online between travel 
documents issued to EU citizens and those issued to third-country nationals (the structure 
of the numbers is the same, regardless of the type of document). 

Contacts  between  the  Commission  and  the  Member  States  have  helped  confirm  that  this 
online problem concerns only travel documents issued by the Czech Republic. Regarding the 
extent of this problem, the Commission must however note that the electronic visa application 
forms put online by DIMA (the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs) include 

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a specific heading on citizenship which asks the visa applicant to indicate whether he/she is a 
national of the country that issued the passport and, if not, to specify his/her actual citizenship 
status. 

–  Increase  in  the  number  of  cases  of  overstay,  visa  refusal  rates,  high  rate  of  use  of 

fraudulent supporting documents 

At the beginning of June, DIMA sent the Commission a progress report which explained that 
these  rates,  when  compared  with  the  overall  average,  are  valid  criteria  for  assessing 
performances  in  the  light  of  immigration  requirements  and  for  deciding  whether  a  Member 
State  is  eligible  for  the  autogrant  facility.  The  progress  report  includes  in  the  annex  a 
statistical table showing the three rates over the reference periods 2003-04, 2004-05 and the 
second half of 2005.  

The  table,  which  relates  only  to  the  six  Member  States  whose  nationals  are  subject  to  the 
standard e676 (autogrant facility not allowed), indicates the following: 

–  Overstay rates  

Rates vary from 0.23% to 2.41% and there are marked differences in trends. In two Member 
States (Lithuania, Cyprus) the rates have fallen twice, while they have risen twice in another 
two (Hungary, Slovakia). In the remaining two Member States, the rate falls then rises in one 
case (Czech Republic) and vice versa in the other (Poland). 

–  Visa refusal rates 

The refusal rate for nationals of each Member State concerned has fallen twice until all were 
below the overall refusal rate for 2005-2006. 

–  Visa cancellation rate 

The rates are very low, or insignificant in some cases: the rate is 0.00% in the case  of four 
Member States for each of the three reference periods; in the case of one Member State, the 
rate is 0.00% in two reference periods and 0.01% in the other; the rate has progressed steadily 
in the case of one Member State only, rising from 0.00% to 0.02%, then to 0.03%.  

–  High rate of fraudulent use of supporting documents  

The Australian authorities have not provided any further information on this subject.  

Conclusions of the Australian authorities:  

–  in  view  of  the  Czech  Republic’s  performance  against  the  overall  average  for  the  three 
relevant  criteria,  extension  of  the  autogrant  facility  to  its  nationals  can  be  considered. 
However,  DIMA  notes  that  the  extension  is  subject  to  a  number  of  outstanding  points 
being resolved with the Czech Republic; 

–  in the case of the other five Member States, although progress has been observed over the 
latest reference period, it is insufficient to envisage the extension of the autogrant facility; 

–  technical improvements will be made to the autogrant facility over the next six months so 

as to reduce the number of supporting documents that need to be presented. 

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By  letter  dated  28  August  2006,  the  Australian  Minister  for  Immigration  and  Multicultural 
Affairs supplied some additional information: 

"Australian  Government  has  developed  a  strategy  for  implementation  of  a  number  of 
measures  over  the  next  few  years  to  achieve  uniformity  of  visa  arrangements  for  all  EU 
member states, involving: 

–  As  an  initial  step,  a  series  of  improvements  to  Australia's  electronic  Tourist  visa  service 
(e676),  to  be  implemented  in  early  2007,  to  reduce  the  length  of  the  online  application 
form and the additional documentation that is sometimes required from applicants. 

–  From 1 July 2007, the elimination of the visa application charge for three-month e676 and 

short stay business visitor visas for new EU member states. 

–  Extension  of  the  e676  autogrant  facility  to  new  EU  member  states,  as  they  achieve 
compliance  levels  at  or  below  the  global  average  of  compliance  with  Australia's  visa 
requirements… 

–  In 2008, implementation of a new electronic visa service for tourists and business visitors 
(eVisitors) that will merge the internet platform of the Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) 
and the e676 service. This new service will have uniform application across the EU, and 
carries no visa application charge… 

–  The  Australian  Government  will  also  examine  technical  options  to  move  to  a  single 
platform for issuing tourist and business visitor visas that would apply across the EU, for 
implementation when a technical solution is identified." 

There  was  a  meeting  with  the  Australian  authorities  on  29  August  2006  in  relation  to  this 
information.  

Assessment  

The  prospect  of  the  forthcoming  extension  of  the  autogrant  facility  to  Czech  nationals 
represents undeniable progress which the Commission welcomes even if it is conditional. The 
technical improvements to be made to the e676 service over the coming months are likely to 
make  life  easier  for  visa  applicants  but  the  details  are  still  awaited.  However,  the 
announcement in the letter from the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs of the 
dropping  of  the  visa  application  charge  for  the  e676  service  from  July  2007  is  a  real  move 
towards the restoration of equal treatment for all Member States. Also, the plans referred to in 
the Australian authorities’ information sketch out the conditions, steps and timetable for full 
restoration of equal treatment for citizens of all Member States by 2008 with the introduction 
of the new single eVisitors platform merging the ETA and e676 services.  

Overall the Commission believes that it is not necessary at the present stage to envisage any 
measures  against  Australia.  However,  the  development  of  the  conditions  for  the  granting  of 
visas must continue to be monitored until the launching of the eVisitors platform, in particular 
as regards the actual introduction within a reasonable time of the improvements announced by 
the  Australian  authorities  (simplification  of  the  e676  service,  provision  of  the  autogrant 
facility, introduction of a single platform applying to all the Member States).  

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5. 

No progress has been made on reciprocity since the report of 10 January 2006 

5.1. 

United States of America 

Current situation  

Visa  requirement  maintained  for  nationals  of  the  Czech  Republic,  Greece,  Estonia,  Cyprus, 
Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland and Slovakia.  

In its first report, the Commission recognised the US commitment at the highest political level 
to  the  VWP  (Visa  Waiver  Program)  roadmap  process.  Considering  the  reaction  of  Member 
States  and  the  realities  of  US  visa  policy,  the  Commission  believes  that  the  VWP  roadmap 
process  could  be  an  adequate  means  for  ensuring  visa  exemption  for  all  EU  citizens  in  the 
medium term and is willing to endorse this approach.  

However, to make this approach fully effective, greater specificity and consistency is needed 
in  setting  goals  and  measurements  in  these  roadmaps.  This  has  been  accepted  by  the  US 
administration  within  the  framework  of  the  Joint  EU-US  Work  Programme  of  November 
2005  in  view  of  the  implementation  of  the  economic  initiative  of  the  June  2005  EU-US 
Summit:  one  of  the  objectives  is  to  “establish  clear  and  comprehensive  Country  Road  Map 
processes for all non-Visa Waiver Program EU Member States providing a pathway for non-
VWP EU Member States to meet the requirements and to join the US VWP”. 

Steps taken to achieve reciprocity  

Since this first meeting, several meetings have taken place between the United States and the 
Member States concerned as well as between the United States and the Commission, notably 
at the EU-US Summit in Vienna on 21 June. However, there are as yet no signs of tangible 
progress: 

–  the  roadmaps  have  not  been  modified  to  make  them  more  comprehensive  and 

country-specific, with appropriate benchmarks and a timetable; 

–  unallayed concerns remain regarding the data used to support the US position, in particular 
with regard to overstay and visa refusal rates; although the criteria established by Congress 
are  acceptable,  the  manner  in  which  they  are  applied  is  not:  visa  refusal  rates  are,  by 
definition,  a  matter  for  the  United  States  consular  authorities;  yet  the  Member  States 
concerned  receive  no  information  on  the  reasons  for  refusing  visas;  on  the  subject  of 
overstay rates, the United States does not currently possess a system for recording entries 
and exits from its territory and therefore has no reliable factual data; 

–  the  US  authorities  are  not  prepared  to  consider  facilitations  in  the  procedure  for  issuing 
visas  (e.g.  in  relation  to  the  amount  of  the  fee  paid  as  a  transitional  measure).  However, 
according to unofficial information that reached the Commission recently, it would appear 
that the US authorities are considering the possibility of allowing Member State nationals 
to submit their visa applications via the internet.  

It  should  be  noted  that  an  amendment  was  lodged  during  a  debate  in  Congress  on  the  new 
immigration law that would allow the Visa Waiver Program to be extended to certain Member 
States,  subject  to  certain  conditions  being  met.  It  is  too  early  to  judge  the  chances  of  the 
amendment becoming law. However, this initiative would not solve the question of extension 
of VWP. 

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In addition, in a letter to the Commission dated 17 August 2006, the US authorities explained 
that they: 

"…reemphasize  that  membership  in  the  VWP  is  predicated  on  compliance  with  an  array  of 
statutorily  established  requirements  that  may  need  clarification,  but  cannot  be  waived  or 
suspended.  At  present,  none  of  the  non-VWP  EU  Member  States  meets  all  the  statutory 
criteria for designation in the program. Such criteria include, among others, a rate of refusals 
on  applications  for  non-immigrant  visitor  visas  of  less  than  3  percent,  the  issuance  of 
biometric  passports,  and  the  timely  reporting  of  lost  and  stolen  passports  to  the  U.S. 
Government. 

We  believe  the  roadmap  process  is  progressing  as  intended  as  a  key  instrument  of  shared 
information  and  constructive  cooperation  between  the  United  States  and  the  EU  Member 
States  actively  seeking  admission  to  the  VWP.  The  roadmap  process  has  already  yielded 
improvements in terms of greater awareness of the indicators - for example, visa overstays - 
that impact a country's VWP eligibility. Moreover, the bilateral working groups tasked with 
the implementation of the roadmaps have now received and discussed issue-specific guidance 
on  areas  such  as  document  integrity  and  security,  and  naturalization,  citizenship,  and 
residency issues that will be subject to evaluation in any future review for initial designation 
in the VWP. Additional guidance on critical issues impacting U.S. homeland security interests 
- border controls, lost and stolen passports, and cooperation on law enforcement and security 
issues - is forthcoming. 

We  respectfully  ask  that  the  Commission  take  note  of  the  progress  achieved  to  date  by  the 
roadmap process and convey to the Member States seeking VWP status DHS's commitment 
to  continue  to  provide  to  each  of  them  advice  and  technical  assistance  on  the  program's 
objectives, requirements, and evaluation criteria." 

Assessment  

It  therefore  appears  that  there  is  no  solution  in  sight  to  the  non-reciprocity  situations 
concerned. No results-oriented dialogue has yet begun. The message conveyed in the letter of 
17  August  is  no  more  than  confirmation  of  an  undertaking  already  given  in  the  first  report. 
The  possibility  of  allowing  nationals  of  a  Member  State  to  submit  visa  applications  via  the 
internet could be a new factor not hitherto mentioned by the US authorities in their contacts 
with the Commission. It remains to be seen whether this measure is actually put into practice. 
In any case, as it appears to be envisaged, it would not alter the Commission’s assessment of 
the current situation. 

In the light of the above, the Commission believes that appropriate steps vis à vis the United 
States  could  be  envisaged,  for  example,  temporarily  restoring  the  visa  requirement  for  US 
nationals holding diplomatic and duty/official passports, in order to expedite progress towards 
reciprocity. 

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III. 

CONCLUSION 

The  Commission  considers  that  the  dialogue  with  third  countries  under  the  new  reciprocity 
mechanism  has  already  proven  effective.  The  steady  and  significant  fall  in  the  number  of 
“non-reciprocity  situations”  (cases  where  a  third  country  maintains  a  visa  requirement  for 
nationals of a Member State) is a remarkable success in the Commission's opinion5. 

However, progress remains stalled with one third country (United States) while the situation 
is evolving with regard to Australia, Canada and Brunei. The future developments with these 
countries  will  determine  the  reflection  on  the  appropriate  approach  that  would  allow  for 
further and concrete progress towards the realisation of reciprocity.  

In view of the importance of achieving full reciprocity, the Commission hereby announces its 
intention to report to the European Parliament and Council again by not later than 31 March 
2007  and  to  make,  where  appropriate,  concrete  proposals  if  the  non-reciprocity  situations 
persist, although formally, under Article 1(5) of the EC Regulation, it is not obliged to present 
such a report until 30 June 2008.  

5 

See Annexes 1A and 1B of the report on reciprocity of 10.1.2006. 

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