COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL State of play and the possible ways forward as regards the situation of non-reciprocity with certain third countries in the area of visa policy (Follow-up to the Communication of 12 April)
Date: 2016-12-21
Institutions: Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, European Commission
Subjects: Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, EU relations, EU visa policy, Poland, Romania, United States, third country

I. 

EN 

   EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 21.12.2016  COM(2016) 816 final   COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL State of play and the possible ways forward as regards the situation of non-reciprocity with certain third countries in the area of visa policy (Follow-up to the Communication of 12 April)  
 
 
I. 

INTRODUCTION 

On 12 April 2016, the Commission presented a Communication on the state of play and the 
possible ways forward as regards the situation of non-reciprocity with certain third countries 
in the area of visa policy1. In this Communication it was noted that with the active support of 
the  Commission,  the  vast  majority  of  the  non-reciprocity  cases  notified  with  eight  third 
countries  have  been  solved.  However,  if  the  third  country  concerned  has  not  lifted  the  visa 
requirement  by  12  April  2016,  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  539/2001  of  15  March  2001 
obliges the Commission to adopt a delegated act suspending for 12 months the visa waiver for 
nationals of that third country. The Regulation also requires that the Commission takes into 
account the consequences of the suspension of the visa waiver for the external relations of the 
EU  and  its  Member  States.  Therefore,  the  April  Communication  also  highlighted  the 
importance  of  full  involvement  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  in  the 
application of the reciprocity mechanism and given the particularly sensitive political nature 
of the suspension of the visa waiver, assessed the consequences and impacts of the suspension 
of  the  visa  waiver  for  nationals  of  the  third  countries  concerned  and  invited  the  European 
Parliament and the Council to urgently launch discussions in light of the assessment provided 
and to take a position on the most appropriate way forward. 

As a follow up, in July 2016 the Commission took stock of progress achieved between April 
and July and set out the next steps on how to achieve full visa reciprocity.2 It welcomed the 
achievement  of  full  visa  reciprocity  with  Brunei.  In  relation  to  Canada,  the  Commission 
looked forward to the EU-Canada Summit as the occasion to confirm tangible progress on the 
lifting  of  the  visa  requirement  for  Bulgarian  and  Romanian  citizens.  It  also  noted  that  the 
United States had not moved towards lifting of the visa requirement for Bulgarian, Croatian, 
Cypriot,  Polish  and  Romanian  citizens.  The  Commission  committed  itself  to  using  all 
opportunities to continue to push for full visa reciprocity with Canada and the United States in 
coordination  with  the  Member  States  concerned  to  accelerate  the  delivery  of  results,  and  to 
reporting on the further progress made before the end of the year.  

This Communication takes stock of further progress achieved since July 2016 in discussions 
with  the  two  remaining  countries.  In  particular,  the  Communication  reports  on  tangible 
progress achieved with Canada, the state of play on discussions with the United States, and 
sets out the next steps.  

II.  DEVELOPMENTS  SINCE  THE  JULY  FOLLOW-UP  COMMUNICATION  IN  PROGRESSING 

TOWARDS FULL VISA RECIPROCITY  

Canada (notified by Bulgaria and Romania) 

As  regards  Canada,  the  July  follow-up  Communication  noted  that  constructive  discussions 
including at the highest political level had intensified in the preceding months, as well as the 
commitment of the Canadian government to continue working with the EU towards full visa 
reciprocity for all EU citizens. The Commission continued to push for full visa reciprocity in 
coordination  with  Bulgaria  and  Romania  to  accelerate  the  delivery  of  results,  and  looked 
forward to the EU-Canada Summit as the occasion to confirm tangible progress on the lifting 
of the visa requirement for Bulgarian and Romanian citizens.  

1   COM(2016) 221 final of 12 April 2016 ("the April Communication"). 
2   COM(2016) 481 final of 13 July 2016 ("the July follow-up Communication"). 

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Following these intensive and coordinated efforts and sustained engagement between the EU 
and Canada, ahead of the 16th EU-Canada Summit on 30 October 2016  in Brussels, Canada 
provided a clear timeline for achieving full visa waiver reciprocity.  

The  Canadian  government  has  announced3  that  it  intends  to  implement  a  partial  visa  lifting 
for  eligible  Romanian  and  Bulgarian  citizens  travelling  to  Canada.  From  1  May  2017, 
Romanian  and  Bulgarian  citizens  who  have  held  a  Canadian  temporary  resident  visa  in  the 
past  10  years  or  who  currently  hold  a  valid  U.S.  non-immigrant  visa  would  not  require  a 
temporary  resident  visa  and  would  be  able  to  travel  to  or  transit  through  Canada  with  an 
Electronic Travel Authorization instead of a visa. The Canadian government intends to lift the 
visa requirement for Bulgarian and Romanian citizens on 1 December 2017. This decision of 
Canada  to  lift,  in  2017,  visa  requirements  for  all  Bulgarian  and  Romanian  citizens  was 
confirmed in the Joint Declaration4 of the EU-Canada Summit. 

The  Commission  welcomes  Canada's  decision  to  lift  the  visa  requirement  for  all 
Bulgarian  and  Romanian  citizens  travelling to  Canada  as  from  1 December 2017.  The 
Commission will now engage with both Member States and Canada in order to ensure 
that full visa reciprocity will be put in place within the agreed timeframes. 

United States (notified by Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Poland and Romania) 

The  July  follow-up  Communication  noted  that,  despite  stepping  up  political  and  technical 
contacts,  there  had  not  been  comparable  indications  of  progress  with  the  United  States  as 
those  seen  with  Canada.  The  United  States  had  not  moved  towards  lifting  of  the  visa 
requirement  for  Bulgarian,  Croatian,  Cypriot,  Polish  and  Romanian  citizens  to  travel  to  the 
United States. The Commission has therefore continued to push for full visa reciprocity with 
the United States in coordination with the five Member States concerned in all relevant fora, 
using  all  opportunities  to  explore  the  way  ahead  and  all  options  or  necessary  actions  to  be 
taken to achieve this objective.  

The conditions of access to the U.S. Visa Waiver Program are determined in legislation by the 
Congress. The Administration implements the programme and under the current legislation it 
has no prerogative to allow the expansion of the programme to new partner countries unless 
they meet the legislative criteria. 

At the EU-U.S. Justice and Home Affairs Senior Official meeting held on 8 September 2016, 
while the EU side called for full visa reciprocity, the United States pointed out that the focus 
of the Department of Homeland Security is  to ensure that the U.S. Visa  Waiver Program is 
maintained  and  that  it  fulfils  its  role  in  ensuring  the  security  of  the  United  States.  For  that 
purpose, the Department of Homeland Security is working on the full implementation of the 
security  enhancements  to  the  Visa  Waiver  Program  decided  by  the  Congress  in  December 

3   http://news.gc.ca/web/article-en.do?nid=1145359. 
4   Paragraph  20  of  the  Joint  Declaration  states:  "We  welcome  and  recognize  the  value  of  enhanced  mobility, 
including through visa-free travel between the European Union and Canada for all of our respective citizens, 
as  envisaged  in  the  Canada-EU  Strategic  Partnership  Agreement.  The  decision  of  Canada  to  lift,  in  late 
2017, visa requirements for all Bulgarian and Romanian citizens will  further facilitate the strong cultural, 
educational, 
and  Europe." 
(http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2016/10/30-eu-canada-declaration/). 

between  Canada 

relations 

business 

family 

exist 

that 

and 

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2015.  The  Department  of  Homeland  Security  underlined  that  the  programme  remains  under 
close scrutiny of the Congress, which in several hearings has expressed criticism on the use 
by the U.S. Administration of the visa waivers provided by the legislation. The Department of 
Homeland Security showed appreciation for EU efforts in strengthening EU external border 
management and new legislative instruments in the area of security. However, it also pointed 
out  that  in  the  short  term  it  is  not  expected  that  the  five  Member  States  under  the  visa 
requirement  will  join  the  Visa  Waiver  Program.  These  Member  States  do  not  meet  the  3% 
visa refusal rate requirement established in the U.S. law, and thus are not eligible to become 
members of the Visa Waiver Program. The Department of Homeland Security also reiterated 
that 
the  visa  waiver  for  U.S.  citizens  would  be  highly 
counterproductive to the achievement of a reciprocal visa waiver.  

temporarily  suspending 

These positions were confirmed at the EU-U.S. Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial Meeting 
held  on  4-5  December  2016  in  Washington  D.C.  The  European  Union  stressed  again  the 
importance of achieving full visa reciprocity with the United States as soon as possible. It was 
decided to continue this work with the new U.S. Administration. 

As  in  the  previous  reporting  period,  there  has  been  no  progress  towards  lifting  of  the 
visa  requirement  for  Bulgarian,  Croatian,  Cypriot,  Polish  and  Romanian  citizens  to 
travel to the United States. Presidential and congressional elections were were held on 8 
November  2016.  The  Commission  will  relaunch  without  delay  its  efforts  with  the  new 
U.S.  Administration,  once  it  is  fully  in  place,  to  push  for  full  visa  reciprocity  in 
coordination with the five Member States concerned.  

The  next  EU-U.S.  Justice  and  Home  Affairs  Ministerial  and  Senior  Officials  meeting 
expected to take place in the first half of 2017 will provide the occasion to agree with the 
new Administration on a way forward to achieve this objective. Given the central role of 
the  U.S.  Congress  in  finding  a  solution,  the  Commission  also  recommends  that 
parliamentary contacts (by the European Parliament and national parliaments) be used 
to their fullest extent.  

III.  POSITIONS  TAKEN  IN  RESPONSE  TO  THE  APRIL  COMMUNICATION  AND  ITS  FOLLOW-

UP REPORTED IN JULY 

On  12  October  2016,  the  Commission  provided  a  state  of  play  in  the  Committee  on  Civil 
Liberties,  Justice  and  Home  Affairs  of  the  European  Parliament.  The  Chair  summarised  the 
Committee's  position  by  concluding  that  the  Commission  is  obliged  by  EU  law  to  adopt 
delegated acts suspending the visa waiver for the citizens of visa-free countries to travel the 
EU, for those third countries which do not apply a reciprocal visa waiver. A further exchange 
of views on this matter took place on 14 December 2016 at the occasion of an oral question in 
the  Plenary  of  the  European  Parliament,  where  a  majority  of  members  who  intervened 
repeated the same position, although the impact on transatlantic relations of a suspension of 
the visa waiver and the need for institutions to work together were also acknowledged. 

As in the previous three months, the Council has not discussed the matter. 

IV. CONCLUSION 

The  Commission  welcomes  the  decision  by  the  Canadian  government  to  lift  the  visa 
requirement for all Bulgarian and Romanian citizens by December 2017 and will now engage 

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with  both  Member  States  and  Canada  in  order  to  ensure  that  full  visa  reciprocity  is  put  in 
place within the agreed timeframe. This progress, achieved on the basis of the way forward 
set  out  in  the  April  Communication  and  of  good  cooperation  with  the  governments  of 
Bulgaria  and  Romania  and  also  members  of  the  European  Parliament,  shows  that  tangible 
progress towards full visa waiver reciprocity can be achieved with continued engagement and 
patient diplomatic contacts.  

As regards the United States, the Commission notes that, as in the previous reporting period, 
during the last five months the United States, also due to the electoral calendar, has not moved 
towards lifting of the visa requirement for Bulgarian, Croatian, Cypriot, Polish and Romanian 
citizens  to  travel  to  the  United  States.  Once  the  new  U.S.  Administration  is  in  place,  the 
Commission  will  relaunch  without  delay  its  efforts  to  push  for  full  visa  reciprocity  in 
coordination with the five Member States concerned and will aim to agree in the first half of 
2017 on a way forward to achieve this objective.  

The  Commission  will  continue  to  work  closely  with  both  the  European  Parliament  and  the 
Council to ensure that the European Union speaks with one voice on this important matter and 
will report on the further progress made before the end of June 2017.  

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