Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement (Turkey)
Date: 2016-05-04
Institutions: Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, European Commission
Subjects: EU visa policy, Schengen Agreement, Türkiye, external border of the EU, foreign national

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 4.5.2016  COM(2016) 279 final 2016/141 (COD)   Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement (Turkey)  
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

• 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

Reasons for and objectives of the proposal 

On 16 December 2013 the European Union (EU) and Turkey launched the Visa Liberalisation 
Dialogue  (VLD),  in  parallel  with  the  signature  of  the  EU-Turkey  Readmission  Agreement. 
The VLD is based on the Roadmap towards a visa free regime with Turkey ("the Roadmap"), 
a  document  setting  out  the  requirements  that  Turkey  needs  to  meet  in  order  to  enable  the 
European Parliament and the Council to amend Regulation (EC) No 539/20011 which would 
allow Turkish citizens holding biometric passports in line with EU standards to travel to the 
Member States without a visa for short stays (i.e. up to 90 days within any 180-day period). 
The 72 requirements listed in the Roadmap are organised in five thematic groups ("blocks"): 
document security; migration management; public order and security; fundamental rights; and 
readmission of irregular migrants.  

The First report on progress by Turkey in fulfilling the requirements of its visa liberalisation 
roadmap2  ("the  First  Report")  was  adopted  by  the  Commission  on  20  October  2014.  It 
assessed the fulfilment of each requirement and issued recommendations for making further 
progress in all of them. 

At the EU-Turkey Summit on 29 November 2015, the Turkish side expressed its commitment 
to  accelerate  the  fulfilment  of  the  Roadmap,  including  by  anticipating  the  application  of  all 
the provisions of the EU-Turkey Readmission agreement, with the objective of obtaining visa 
liberalisation by October 20163. The commitment was welcomed by the European Union. 

On  4  March  2016  the  Commission  adopted  its  Second  report  on  progress  by  Turkey  in 
fulfilling the requirements of its visa liberalisation roadmap4 ("the Second Report") assessing 
the  progress  in  the  implementation  of  the  requirements  of  the  Roadmap  by  Turkey.  It 
concluded that, since the EU-Turkey Summit of 29 November 2015, the Turkish authorities 
had intensified their efforts in implementing the Roadmap. It listed specific recommendations 
on  the  measures  that  Turkey  should  take  to  make  further  progress  towards  the  complete 
fulfilment of all requirements, and encouraged the Turkish authorities to further accelerate the 
reform  process,  by  addressing  the  outstanding  issues  identified  in  the  report  as  a  matter  of 
urgency.  The  report  confirmed  areas  where  Turkey  fulfilled  the  benchmarks  and  identified 
actions to be taken to ensure that Turkey meets all benchmarks of the Roadmap. 

On  7  and  18  March  2016,  meetings  of  the  Heads  of  State  or  Government  of  the  EU  and 
Turkey  took  place.  The  latter  meeting  concluded  with  an  EU-Turkey  Statement5  which 
stipulates that "the fulfilment of the visa liberalisation roadmap will be accelerated vis-à-vis 
all  participating  Member  States  with  a  view  to  lifting  the  visa  requirements  for  Turkish 
citizens at the latest by the end of June 2016, provided that all benchmarks have been met. To 
this end Turkey will take the necessary steps to fulfil the remaining requirements to allow the 
Commission to make, following the required assessment of compliance with the benchmarks, 

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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 requirement, OJ L 81, 21.03.2001, p. 1. 
COM(2014) 646 final. 
Statement  adopted  at 
http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2015/11/29-eu-turkey-meeting-statement/ 
COM(2016) 140 final. 
Statement  adopted  at 
http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2016/03/18-eu-turkey-statement/. 

the  Meeting  of  EU  heads  of  state  or  government  with  Turkey: 

the  Meeting  of  EU  heads  of  state  or  government  with  Turkey:  

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an appropriate proposal by the end of April on the basis of which the European Parliament 
and the Council can make a final decision".  

In  the  Third  report  on  progress  by  Turkey  in  fulfilling  the  requirements  of  its  visa 
liberalisation roadmap6, submitted in parallel with this proposal, the Commission notes that 
building on the new level of engagement and determination demonstrated by Turkey since the 
EU-Turkey  Summit  of  29  November  2015,  in  the  last  months  the  Turkish  authorities  have 
further  intensified  their  efforts  to  fulfil  that  condition.  The  Commission  acknowledges  the 
good progress made by the Turkish authorities so far, and it encourages them to urgently step 
up  these  efforts  to  meet  all  requirements  in  order  to  obtain  visa  liberalisation  by  the  end  of 
June. 

As  indicated  in  the  Report,  however,  the  Turkish  authorities  have  not  yet  managed  to  meet 
this ambitious objective as 7 requirements out of 72 have not yet been fulfilled. Some of them 
are of particular importance.  

Two  of  these  seven  outstanding  requirements  need  for  practical  and  procedural  reasons  a 
longer timeline for implementation, and this has made it impossible for them to be fulfilled in 
a  complete  manner  by  the  time  of  the  presentation  of  this  proposal.  This  concerns  the 
following two benchmarks: 

– 

– 

upgrading  the  existing biometric passports so as  to  include security  features in  line 
with the latest EU standards;  

fully  implementing  the  provisions  of  the  EU-Turkey  readmission  agreement, 
including those related to the readmission of third country nationals. 

As  indicated  in  the  Report,  the  Commission  and  the  Turkish  authorities  have  agreed  on 
practical ways of implementing these benchmarks before their complete fulfilment. 

The  Commission  invites  the  Turkish  authorities to  urgently undertake  the  measures  that  are 
necessary to fulfil the other outstanding benchmarks of the Roadmap, namely:  

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

adopting the measures to prevent corruption foreseen by the Roadmap, i.e. ensuring 
an  effective  follow-up  to  the  recommendations  issued  by  the  Council  of  Europe's 
Group of States against Corruption (GRECO);  

aligning  the  legislation  on  personal  data  protection  to  EU  standards,  notably  to 
ensure that the data protection authority can act in an independent manner and that 
the activities of law enforcement agencies fall within the scope of the law;  

negotiating  an  operational  cooperation  agreement  with  Europol.  This  also  depends 
upon the above changes to the data protection legislation;  

offering effective judicial cooperation in criminal matters to all EU Member States;  

revising  the  legislation  and  practices  on  terrorism  in  line  with  European  standards, 
notably by better aligning the definition of terrorism with that set out in Framework 
Decision  2002/475/JHA  as  amended  in  order  to  narrow  the  scope  of  the  definition 
and by introducing a criterion of proportionality.  

On the understanding that the Turkish authorities willfulfil, as a matter of urgency and as they 
committed  to  do  so  on  18  March  2016,  the  outstanding  benchmarks  of  the  Roadmap,  the 
Commission has decided to present the proposal to amend Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 to 
lift the visa requirement for Turkish citizens who are holders of a biometric passport in line 
with EU standards.   

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COM(2016) 278. 

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In  order  to  assist  the  co-legislators  in  their  deliberations,  the  Commission  will  continue 
monitoring the steps which the Turkish authorities take to fulfil the outstanding requirements 
of the Roadmap. 

The presentation of this proposal at the beginning of May allows for an eight-week period to 
elapse between the draft being made available to national Parliaments and its adoption by the 
end of June, as mentioned in the EU-Turkey Statement of 18 March 2016, and in accordance 
with  Article  4  of  Protocol  No  1  to  the  Treaties  on  the  role  of  national  Parliaments  in  the 
European  Union.  As  such  the  proposal  ensures  that  a  key  element  of  the  EU-Turkey 
statement, agreed on 18 March by Heads of State or Government, can be delivered. 

• 

Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area 

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

Turkey  is  currently  listed  in  Annex  I  of  Regulation  (EC)  No 539/2001,  i.e.  among  those 
countries  whose  nationals  are  required  to  hold  a  visa  when  travelling  to  the  territory  of  EU 
Member States.  
Regulation  (EC)  No  539/2001  was  last  amended  by  Regulation  (EU)  No  259/20147  when 
Moldova was transferred to the visa-free list after successfully implementing its VLAP; and 
by  Regulation  (EU)  No  509/20148  when  five  Caribbean9  and  eleven  Pacific  countries10,  as 
well  as  Colombia,  Peru  and  the  United  Arab  Emirates  were  exempted  from  the  visa 
requirement  –  subject  to  the  conclusion  of  visa  waiver  agreements  between  the  EU  and  the 
respective third countries – following a periodical review of the visa lists. On 9 March 2016 
and 20 April 2016 the Commission made proposals to amend Regulation (EC) No 539/2001, 
transferring  –  respectively  –  Georgia11  and  Ukraine12  to  the  visa-free  list  after  successful 
implementation of their VLAP roadmaps. 

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

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Regulation (EU) No 259/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 April 2014 amending 
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, OJ L 105, 8.4.2014, p. 9. 
Regulation  (EU)  No  509/2014  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  15  May  2014 
amending 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, OJ L 149, 20.5.2014, p. 67. 
Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago. 
Kiribati,  Marshall  Islands,  Micronesia,  Nauru,  Palau,  Samoa,  Solomon  Islands,  Timor-Leste,  Tonga, 
Tuvalu, Vanuatu. 
COM(2016) 142 final. 
COM(2016) 236 final. 

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reciprocity.”13 Particular attention should be paid to the security of travel documents issued by 
the third countries concerned. 

As regards reciprocity, on 2 May 2016 the Turkish Government adopted a decree stating that 
the citizens of all Member States will be able to enter Turkey without a visa from the date of 
lifting the visa requirement for Turkish citizens. 

• 

Consistency with other Union policies 

On  6  April  2016  the  Commission  proposed  setting  up  an  EU  Entry/Exit  System  (EES)  to 
strengthen the Schengen area's external borders14. The main objectives of this proposal are to 
improve  the  quality  of  border  checks  for  third-country  nationals  and  to  ensure  a  systematic 
and reliable identification of overstayers. The future EES will thus be an important element to 
ensure lawful use of the visa-free stays in the Schengen area by third-country nationals and to 
contribute to preventing irregular migration of nationals from visa-free countries.  

Furthermore, in a Communication15 , the Commission announced that it will assess the need, 
feasibility  and  proportionality  of  the  establishment  of  an  EU  Travel  Information  and 
Authorisation  System  (ETIAS).  The  Commission  has  committed  to  explore  still  in  2016 
whether  such  an  additional  layer  of  control  for  visa-free  country  nationals  is  feasible  and 
proportional, and will effectively contribute to maintaining and strengthening the security of 
the Schengen area. 

2. 

• 

LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY 

Legal basis 

As the proposal will amend the EU's common visa policy, the legal basis for the proposal is 
point  (a)  of  Article  77(2)  of  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union  (TFEU). 
The proposed regulation will constitute a development of the Schengen acquis. 

• 

Subsidiarity, proportionality and choice of the instrument 

As Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 is a legal act of the EU, it can only be amended by way of 
an equivalent legal act. Member States cannot act individually to achieve the policy objective. 
No other (non-legislative) options to achieve the policy objective are available. 

3. 

• 

RESULTS 
CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS 

EX-POST 

EVALUATIONS, 

OF 

STAKEHOLDER 

Stakeholder consultations 

Regular  discussions  with  Member  States  at  the  Justice  and  Home  Affairs  Councils, 
COREPER,  Council  Working  Party  on  Enlargement  (COELA),  meetings  with  Justice  and 
Home Affairs Counsellors of the Member States and several presentations of the state of play 

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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 requirement. 
Proposal  for  a  Regulation  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  establishing  an  Entry/Exit 
System (EES) to register entry and exit data and refusal of entry data of third country nationals crossing 
the  external borders of  the Member  States  of  the  European Union  and determining  the  conditions for 
access to the EES for law enforcement purposes, COM(2016) 194 final. 
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and Council, "Stronger and Smarter 
Information Systems for Borders and Security", COM(2016) 205 final. 

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of  the  visa  liberalisation  dialogue  to  the  European  Parliament  –  in  plenary  and  in  the 
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) – have taken place.   

• 

Collection and use of expertise 

The  Commission  has  collected  comprehensive  data  on  Turkey's  implementation  of  all 
requirements  under  the  Roadmap.  During  the  visa  liberalisation  dialogue  with  Turkey,  and 
notably in  view of the preparation of its reports,  experts  from the  Commission  services, the 
European  External  Action  Service  (EEAS),  EU  Member  States  and  relevant  EU  agencies 
(Frontex, EASO, Europol, Eurojust) have analysed Turkish legislation in the areas covered by 
the  VLD  as  well  as  its  practical  implementation.  Several  technical  talks  and  visits  on  the 
ground  were  carried  out,  and  large  documentation  was  collected  with  the  assistance  of 
Turkish authorities and experts.     

• 

Impact assessment 

The  Second  Report  of  the  Commission  issued  on  4  March  2016  was  accompanied  by  a 
Commission  Staff  Working  Document16,  assessing  –  on  the  basis  of  EUROSTAT  statistical 
information, inputs from the relevant EU Agencies, and observed trends – the possible impact 
of visa liberalisation for Turkey on the migratory situation of the European Union.  

The  Third  Report,  issued  in  parallel  with  this  proposal,  is  accompanied  by  a  Commission 
Staff Working Document17 providing, for each requirement, factual information on the state 
of play of its fulfilment. This document also includes an assessment of the possible impact of 
visa liberalisation for Turkey on the security situation of the European Union.   

No further impact assessment is necessary. 

• 

Fundamental rights 

This  proposal  has  no  negative  consequences  for  the  protection  of  fundamental  rights  in  the 
European  Union.  The  fulfilment  of  the  benchmarks  of  the  Roadmap  will  improve  the 
protection of human rights in Turkey. 

4. 

n/a 

5. 

• 

BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS 

OTHER ELEMENTS 

Implementation plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements 

The amended Regulation will be directly applicable from the date of its entry into force and 
will be implemented immediately by Member States. No implementation plan is necessary.  

The Commission will continue to actively monitor Turkey's continuous implementation of all 
benchmarks under the five blocks of the Roadmap through the existing association structures 
and dialogue and, if necessary, through ad hoc follow-up mechanisms.  

In  particular,  even  after  the  granting  of  the  visa-free  regime  to  Turkey,  the  Commission, 
through  the  regular  organisation  of  the  meetings  of  the  EU-Turkey  Joint  Readmission 
Committee,  will continue to monitor the implementation by Turkey of the provisions of the 

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SWD (2016) 97. 
SWD (2016) 161. 

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EU-Turkey Readmission Agreement. The respect of these provisions towards all EU Member 
States represents one of the fundamental requirements for the visa-free regime. 

• 

Detailed explanation of the specific provisions of the proposal 

Regulation  (EC)  No  539/2001  will  be  amended,  transferring  Turkey  from  Annex  I  (list  of 
visa-required countries) to Annex II (list of visa-free countries). In line with the Roadmap, a 
footnote  will  be  added  specifying  that  the  visa  exemption  applies  to  holders  of  biometric 
passports  issued  in  line  with  the  standards  of  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  2252/2004,  in 
particular with encryption of fingerprints by Supplementary Access Control (SAC).  

Turkey has informed the Commission that it will complete all necessary reforms to issue fully 
EU-compliant biometric passports by the end of 2016. In parallel Turkey will already ensure 
by early June that all passports to be issued will include a photograph and the fingerprints of 
the  holder  in  the  chip  and  will  be  fully  in  line  with  standards  of  the  International  Civil 
Aviation  Organisation  (ICAO).  In  those  passports,  the  fingerprints  will  be  protected  by 
Extended Access Control (EAC) encryption. Therefore the visa exemption will exceptionally 
also apply to holders of those latter passports, provided that they were issued between 1 June 
2016  and  31  December  2016.  This  exception  will  expire  on  31  December  2017.  Before  the 
visa-free regime starts, Turkey should provide to all Member States the certificates allowing 
to authenticate and read the information stored in the chips of the Turkish passports. 

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2016/141 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

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

(Turkey) 

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular point 
(a) of Article 77(2) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments, 

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

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Council Regulation (EC) No 539/200118 lists the third countries whose nationals must 
be  in  possession  of  a  visa  when  crossing  the  external  borders  of  the  Member States 
and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement. The composition of the 
lists  of  third  countries  in  Annexes  I  and  II  should  be,  and  should  remain,  consistent 
with the criteria set out therein. References to third countries in respect of which the 
situation has changed as regards those criteria should be transferred from one annex to 
the other, as appropriate. 

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

third  countries, 

the  relevant 

including 

Following the  EU-Turkey  Summits on 29  November 2015 and on 18  March 2016 it 
was  agreed  that  the  fulfilment  of  the  visa  liberalisation  roadmap  presented  by  the 
Commission to the Turkish Government on 16 December 2013 will be accelerated vis-
à-vis all participating Member States with a view to lifting the visa requirements for 
Turkish nationals at the latest by the end of June 2016.  

Visa liberalisation for Turkey is a key component of the EU-Turkey Statement of 18 
March  2016.  The  Statement  stipulates  that  the  visa  requirement  for  Turkish  citizens 

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 requirement, OJ L 81, 21.03.2001, p. 1. 

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should be lifted at the latest by the end of June 2016. Presenting the proposal for visa 
liberalisation  at  the  beginning  of  May  enables  the  eight-week  period  provided  to 
national  Parliaments  by  Article  4  of  Protocol  No  1  to  the  Treaties  on  the  role  of 
national Parliaments in the European Union to elapse before its adoption at the end of 
June. 

[Turkey  has  met  the  requirements  of  its  visa  liberalisation  roadmap.  On  the  basis  of 
this assessment and taking account of all the criteria listed in Article -1 of Regulation 
(EC)  No  539/2001,  it  is  appropriate  to  exempt  Turkish  nationals  from  the  visa 
requirement when travelling to the territory of the Member States.] 

Turkey  should  thus  be  transferred  from  Annex  I  to  Regulation  (EC)  No 539/2001  to 
Annex II thereof.  

The  visa  exemption  is  dependent  upon  the  continued  implementation  of  the 
requirements  of  the  visa  liberalisation  roadmap  and  of  the  European  Union-Turkey 
Statement  of  18  March  2016.  The  Commission  will  actively  monitor 
the 
implementation of the requirements and of the Statement. The visa exemption may be 
suspended by the EU in line with the suspension mechanism established by Article 1a 
of  Regulation  (EC)  No  539/2001,  as  amended  by  Regulation  xxx,  should  the 
conditions set out therein be met.  

This visa exemption should apply only to holders of biometric passports issued in line 
with  the  standards  of  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  2252/200419  Exceptionally  the 
exemption should also apply to holders of biometric passports that include the passport 
holders' fingerprints, issued in line with standards of the International Civil Aviation 
Organisation  (ICAO),  and  provided  that  such  passports  were  issued  between  1  June 
2016 and 31 December 2016. This exception will expire on 31 December 2017. 

This  Regulation  constitutes  a  development  of  provisions  of  the  Schengen  acquis  in 
which  the  United  Kingdom  does  not  take  part,  in  accordance  with  Council  Decision 
2000/365/EC20.  The  United  Kingdom  is  therefore  not  taking  part  in  the  adoption  of 
this Regulation and is not bound by it or subject to its application.  

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

(9) 

(10)  This  Regulation  constitutes  a  development  of  provisions  of  the  Schengen  acquis  in 
which Ireland does not take part, in accordance with Council Decision 2002/192/EC21. 
Ireland is therefore not taking part in the adoption of this Regulation and is not bound 
by it or subject to its application.  

(11)  As  regards  Iceland  and  Norway,  this  Regulation  constitutes  a  development  of 
provisions of the Schengen acquis within the meaning 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,  which  fall  within  the  area 
referred to in point B of Article 1, of Council Decision 1999/437/EC22. 

19 

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Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  2252/2004  of  13  December  2004  on  standards  for  security  features  and 
biometrics in passports and travel documents issued by Member States, OJ L 385, 29.12.2004, p. 1. 
Council Decision 2000/365/EC of 29 May 2000 concerning the request of the United Kingdom of Great 
Britain and Northern Ireland to take part in some of the provisions of the Schengen acquis, OJ L 131, 
1.6.2000, p. 43. 
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, OJ L 64, 7.3.2002, p. 20. 
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 

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(12)  As regards Switzerland, this Regulation constitutes a development of the provisions of 
the  Schengen  acquis  within  the  meaning  of  the  Agreement  between  the  European 
Union,  the  European  Community  and  the  Swiss  Confederation  on  the  Swiss 
Confederation's association with the implementation, application and development of 
the Schengen acquis, which fall within the area referred to in point B of Article 1, of 
Decision  1999/437/EC,  read  in  conjunction  with  Article  3  of  Council  Decision 
2008/146/EC23. 

(13)  As regards Liechtenstein, this Regulation constitutes a development of the provisions 
of  the  Schengen  acquis  within  the  meaning  of  the  Protocol  signed  between  the 
European  Union,  the  European  Community,  the  Swiss  Confederation  and  the 
Principality  of  Liechtenstein  on  the  accession  of  the  Principality  of  Liechtenstein  to 
the Agreement between the European Union, the European Community and the Swiss 
Confederation  on  the  Swiss  Confederation's  association  with  the  implementation, 
application  and  development  of  the  Schengen  acquis,  which  fall  within  the  area 
referred to in point B of Article 1, of Decision 1999/437/EC read in conjunction with 
Article 3 of Council Decision 2011/350/EU24, 

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

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

Article 1 

(a) 

(b) 

in Annex I, Part 1 ("STATES"), the reference to Turkey is deleted.  

in Annex II, Part 1 ("STATES"), the following reference is inserted: 

"Turkey"* 

______________ 

* 
The  exemption  from  the  visa  requirement  applies  only  to  holders  of  biometric 
passports issued in line with Council Regulation (EC) No 2252/2004 of 13 December 2004 on 
standards  for  security  features  and  biometrics  in  passports  and  travel  documents  issued  by 
Member States, OJ L 385, 29.12.2004, p. 1. Exceptionally the exemption shall also apply to 
holders  of  biometric  passports  that  include  the  passport  holders'  fingerprints,  issued  in  line 
with  standards  of  the  International  Civil  Aviation  Organisation  (ICAO),  and  provided  that 
such passports were issued between 1 June 2016 and 31 December 2016. This exception shall 
expire on 31 December 2017. 

23 

24 

Kingdom  of  Norway  concerning  the  association  of  those  two  States  with  the  implementation, 
application and development of the Schengen acquis, OJ L 176, 10.7.1999, p. 31. 
Council  Decision  2008/146/EC  of  28  January  2008  on  the  conclusion,  on  behalf  of  the  European 
Community, of the Agreement between the European Union, the European Community and the Swiss 
Confederation  on  the  Swiss  Confederation's  association  with  the  implementation,  application  and 
development of the Schengen acquis, OJ L 53, 27.2.2008, p. 1. 
Council Decision 2011/350/EU of 7 March 2011 on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, 
of the Protocol between the European Union, the European Community, the Swiss Confederation and 
the Principality of Liechtenstein on the accession of the Principality of Liechtenstein to the Agreement 
between  the  European  Union,  the  European  Community  and  the  Swiss  Confederation  on  the  Swiss 
Confederation’s  association  with  the  implementation,  application  and  development  of  the  Schengen 
acquis,  relating  to  the  abolition  of  checks  at  internal  borders  and  movement  of  persons,  OJ  L  160, 
18.6.2011, p. 19. 

EN 

10 

   EN 

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

Article 2 

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in the Member States in 
accordance with the Treaties. 

Done at Brussels, 

For the European Parliament 
The President 

For the Council 
The President 

EN 

11 

   EN