Article 2 
Champ d'application Le présent règlement s'applique sans préjudice des dispositions de droit communautaire et de droit national applicables aux ressortissants de pays tiers en matière: a) de séjour de longue durée; b) d'accès à une activité économique et d'exercice d'une telle activité; c) de douane et de fiscalité. Article 3 Définitions Pour l'application du présent règlement, on entend par: 1) "frontière terrestre extérieure", la frontière terrestre commune entre un État membre et un pays tiers voisin; 2) "zone frontalière", une zone qui ne s'étend pas à plus de trente kilomètres de la frontière. Les communes qui doivent être considérées comme la zone frontalière sont précisées par les États concernés dans leurs accords bilatéraux visés à l'article 13. Toute partie d'une de ces communes située à plus de trente kilomètres mais à moins de cinquante kilomètres de la ligne frontalière est néanmoins considérée comme appartenant à la zone frontalière; 3) "petit trafic frontalier", le franchissement régulier d'une frontière terrestre extérieure par des frontaliers, en vue d'effectuer un séjour dans une zone frontalière, par exemple pour des raisons sociales, culturelles ou pour des raisons économiques justifiées, ou pour des raisons d'ordre familial, d'une durée ne dépassant pas la durée fixée par le présent règlement; 4) "personnes jouissant du droit communautaire à la libre circulation": i) les citoyens de l'Union, au sens de l'article 17, paragraphe 1, du traité instituant la Communauté européenne, ainsi que les ressortissants de pays tiers membres de la famille d'un citoyen de l'Union exerçant son droit à la libre circulation, auxquels s'applique la directive 2004/38/CE [12]; ii) les ressortissants de pays tiers et les membres de leur famille, quelle que soit leur nationalité, qui, en vertu d'accords conclus entre la Communauté et ses États membres, d'une part, et ces pays tiers, d'autre part, jouissent de droits en matière de libre circulation équivalents au droit des citoyens de l'Union; 5) "ressortissant de pays tiers", toute personne qui n'est pas citoyen de l'Union au sens de l'article 17, paragraphe 1, du traité instituant la Communauté européenne et qui n'est pas visée par le point 4); 6) "frontalier", tout ressortissant d'un pays tiers qui réside légalement dans la zone frontalière d'un pays voisin d'un État membre depuis une période précisée dans les accords bilatéraux visés à l'article 13, laquelle est d'un an au moins. Dans des cas exceptionnels et dûment justifiés, précisés dans ces accords bilatéraux, une période de résidence inférieure à un an peut également être considérée comme appropriée; 7) "permis délivré en vue du franchissement local de la frontière": un document spécifique, instauré par le chapitre III, autorisant les frontaliers à franchir une frontière terrestre extérieure conformément au régime du petit trafic frontalier; 8) "la convention de Schengen": la convention mettant en application l'accord du 14 juin 1985 entre les gouvernements des États membres de l'Union économique Benelux, de la République fédérale d'Allemagne et de la République française relatif à la suppression graduelle des contrôles aux frontières communes [13].
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL It is in the interest of the enlarged European Union to ensure that the borders with its neighbours are no barriers to trade, social and cultural interchange or regional cooperation with neighbouring countries. Therefore, the Council and the European Parliament adopted in 2006 a Regulation laying down rules on local border traffic at the external land borders of the Member States[1] ("Local Border Traffic Regulation") which allows derogating, for persons living in a border area, from the general rules on border checks set out in the Schengen Borders Code. The Regulation authorises Member States to conclude bilateral agreements with neighbouring non-EU countries, provided these agreements fully comply with the parameters set by the Regulation. In February 2011, the Commission concluded in its second report[2] that the local border traffic regime makes life significantly easier for people living near the external land borders, while at the same time there is little evidence that the regime is being abused. The Commission also stated that given the specific position of Kaliningrad -the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation with a population of almost one million inhabitants became the only enclave within the EU as a consequence of the 2004 EU enlargement- an amendment of the Local Border Traffic Regulation may be justified. Indeed, the Kaliningrad enclave has an exceptional geographic position as a relatively small area which is completely surrounded by two EU Member States; the oblast in its entirety has the character of a border area. There are no other areas within Europe with a similar geographic situation constituting an enclave. In order to avoid Kaliningrad's isolation from its immediate neighbours, there is a need to facilitate travel for its inhabitants. Even though the EU-Russian Federation agreement on visa facilitation in force since 2007 already is a significant step forward to enhance opportunities for mobility, the local border traffic regime offers additional facilitations specifically for regular, even daily, needs for travel within the local area. For examples, applicants will not have to prove sufficient means of subsistence, the permit may be issued free of charge, or separate lanes and/or specific border crossing points could be reserved or set up for local border traffic. Also, all residents of the Kaliningrad area would enjoy these facilitations, whereas some of the facilitations in the EU-Russian Federation visa facilitation agreement apply to certain categories of persons only. In order also to prevent an artificial division of the Kaliningrad oblast, whereby some inhabitants would enjoy facilitations for local border traffic while the majority (including the inhabitants of the city of Kaliningrad) would not, the entire Kaliningrad area should be eligible as a border area in a bilateral agreement between a Member State and the Russian Federation. It should be noted that this eligible border area could not be extended any further. In this context, and for the Regulation to have real effect in that region, a specific border area on the Polish side should be included in the eligible border area as well, in order to facilitate and enhance economic and cultural interchange between the Kaliningrad oblast on the one hand and major centres in the North of Poland on the other. It is underlined that this exceptional extension of the border zone in the Kaliningrad area does not affect the general definition of the eligible border area (the 30/50 km zone). Also, all rules and conditions in the Local Border Traffic Regulation that guarantee the security of the entire Schengen area continue to apply. In particular, the local border traffic permits will continue to have the security features as set out in the Regulation, and local border traffic permits may only be issued to applicants who fulfil all conditions set out in the Regulation. Also, Poland is obliged to ensure that any abuse of the local border traffic regime is subject to effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties, which shall include the possibility of cancelling and revoking local border traffic permits. In this context, the Polish authorities have already committed themselves to launch targeted information campaigns and to mark clearly the local border traffic area. This proposal will contribute to further promoting the strategic partnership between the EU and the Russian Federation, in line with the priorities set out in the Roadmap of the Common Space on Freedom, Security and Justice regarding cross-border cooperation and shall be considered in the context of the overall EU - Russian Federation relationship.
Article 3 
Définitions Pour l'application du présent règlement, on entend par: 1) "frontière terrestre extérieure", la frontière terrestre commune entre un État membre et un pays tiers voisin; 2) "zone frontalière", une zone qui ne s'étend pas à plus de trente kilomètres de la frontière. Les communes qui doivent être considérées comme la zone frontalière sont précisées par les États concernés dans leurs accords bilatéraux visés à l'article 13. Toute partie d'une de ces communes située à plus de trente kilomètres mais à moins de cinquante kilomètres de la ligne frontalière est néanmoins considérée comme appartenant à la zone frontalière; 3) "petit trafic frontalier", le franchissement régulier d'une frontière terrestre extérieure par des frontaliers, en vue d'effectuer un séjour dans une zone frontalière, par exemple pour des raisons sociales, culturelles ou pour des raisons économiques justifiées, ou pour des raisons d'ordre familial, d'une durée ne dépassant pas la durée fixée par le présent règlement; 4) "personnes jouissant du droit communautaire à la libre circulation": i) les citoyens de l'Union, au sens de l'article 17, paragraphe 1, du traité instituant la Communauté européenne, ainsi que les ressortissants de pays tiers membres de la famille d'un citoyen de l'Union exerçant son droit à la libre circulation, auxquels s'applique la directive 2004/38/CE [12]; ii) les ressortissants de pays tiers et les membres de leur famille, quelle que soit leur nationalité, qui, en vertu d'accords conclus entre la Communauté et ses États membres, d'une part, et ces pays tiers, d'autre part, jouissent de droits en matière de libre circulation équivalents au droit des citoyens de l'Union; 5) "ressortissant de pays tiers", toute personne qui n'est pas citoyen de l'Union au sens de l'article 17, paragraphe 1, du traité instituant la Communauté européenne et qui n'est pas visée par le point 4); 6) "frontalier", tout ressortissant d'un pays tiers qui réside légalement dans la zone frontalière d'un pays voisin d'un État membre depuis une période précisée dans les accords bilatéraux visés à l'article 13, laquelle est d'un an au moins. Dans des cas exceptionnels et dûment justifiés, précisés dans ces accords bilatéraux, une période de résidence inférieure à un an peut également être considérée comme appropriée; 7) "permis délivré en vue du franchissement local de la frontière": un document spécifique, instauré par le chapitre III, autorisant les frontaliers à franchir une frontière terrestre extérieure conformément au régime du petit trafic frontalier; 8) "la convention de Schengen": la convention mettant en application l'accord du 14 juin 1985 entre les gouvernements des États membres de l'Union économique Benelux, de la République fédérale d'Allemagne et de la République française relatif à la suppression graduelle des contrôles aux frontières communes [13].
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL It is in the interest of the enlarged European Union to ensure that the borders with its neighbours are no barriers to trade, social and cultural interchange or regional cooperation with neighbouring countries. Therefore, the Council and the European Parliament adopted in 2006 a Regulation laying down rules on local border traffic at the external land borders of the Member States[1] ("Local Border Traffic Regulation") which allows derogating, for persons living in a border area, from the general rules on border checks set out in the Schengen Borders Code. The Regulation authorises Member States to conclude bilateral agreements with neighbouring non-EU countries, provided these agreements fully comply with the parameters set by the Regulation. In February 2011, the Commission concluded in its second report[2] that the local border traffic regime makes life significantly easier for people living near the external land borders, while at the same time there is little evidence that the regime is being abused. The Commission also stated that given the specific position of Kaliningrad -the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation with a population of almost one million inhabitants became the only enclave within the EU as a consequence of the 2004 EU enlargement- an amendment of the Local Border Traffic Regulation may be justified. Indeed, the Kaliningrad enclave has an exceptional geographic position as a relatively small area which is completely surrounded by two EU Member States; the oblast in its entirety has the character of a border area. There are no other areas within Europe with a similar geographic situation constituting an enclave. In order to avoid Kaliningrad's isolation from its immediate neighbours, there is a need to facilitate travel for its inhabitants. Even though the EU-Russian Federation agreement on visa facilitation in force since 2007 already is a significant step forward to enhance opportunities for mobility, the local border traffic regime offers additional facilitations specifically for regular, even daily, needs for travel within the local area. For examples, applicants will not have to prove sufficient means of subsistence, the permit may be issued free of charge, or separate lanes and/or specific border crossing points could be reserved or set up for local border traffic. Also, all residents of the Kaliningrad area would enjoy these facilitations, whereas some of the facilitations in the EU-Russian Federation visa facilitation agreement apply to certain categories of persons only. In order also to prevent an artificial division of the Kaliningrad oblast, whereby some inhabitants would enjoy facilitations for local border traffic while the majority (including the inhabitants of the city of Kaliningrad) would not, the entire Kaliningrad area should be eligible as a border area in a bilateral agreement between a Member State and the Russian Federation. It should be noted that this eligible border area could not be extended any further. In this context, and for the Regulation to have real effect in that region, a specific border area on the Polish side should be included in the eligible border area as well, in order to facilitate and enhance economic and cultural interchange between the Kaliningrad oblast on the one hand and major centres in the North of Poland on the other. It is underlined that this exceptional extension of the border zone in the Kaliningrad area does not affect the general definition of the eligible border area (the 30/50 km zone). Also, all rules and conditions in the Local Border Traffic Regulation that guarantee the security of the entire Schengen area continue to apply. In particular, the local border traffic permits will continue to have the security features as set out in the Regulation, and local border traffic permits may only be issued to applicants who fulfil all conditions set out in the Regulation. Also, Poland is obliged to ensure that any abuse of the local border traffic regime is subject to effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties, which shall include the possibility of cancelling and revoking local border traffic permits. In this context, the Polish authorities have already committed themselves to launch targeted information campaigns and to mark clearly the local border traffic area. This proposal will contribute to further promoting the strategic partnership between the EU and the Russian Federation, in line with the priorities set out in the Roadmap of the Common Space on Freedom, Security and Justice regarding cross-border cooperation and shall be considered in the context of the overall EU - Russian Federation relationship.
Article 4 
Conditions d'entrée Les frontaliers peuvent franchir la frontière terrestre extérieure d'un État membre voisin en vertu du régime propre au petit trafic frontalier, à condition qu'ils: a) soient en possession d'un permis délivré en vue du franchissement local de la frontière et d'au moins un document de voyage en cours de validité, dans la mesure où cette condition est prévue par les accords bilatéraux visés à l'article 13; b) n'aient pas été signalés dans le Système d'information Schengen (SIS) aux fins de non-admission; c) ne soient pas considérés comme une menace pour l'ordre public, la sécurité intérieure, la santé publique ou les relations internationales de l'un des États membres et notamment n'aient pas été signalés dans les fichiers de recherche nationaux des États membres aux fins de non-admission pour les mêmes motifs. Article 5 Durée du séjour dans la zone frontalière Les accords bilatéraux visés à l'article 13 précisent la durée maximale autorisée dans le cadre du régime propre au petit trafic frontalier pour chaque séjour non interrompu effectué, celle-ci ne pouvant dépasser trois mois. Article 6 Contrôles d'entrée et de sortie 1. Les États membres soumettent les frontaliers à des contrôles d'entrée et de sortie afin de s'assurer que ceux-ci remplissent les conditions visées à l'article 4. 2. Il n'est pas apposé de cachet d'entrée ou de sortie sur le permis délivré en vue du franchissement local de la frontière en vertu du régime propre au petit trafic frontalier. 3. Le paragraphe 1 s'entend sans préjudice de l'article 15.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL It is in the interest of the enlarged European Union to ensure that the borders with its neighbours are no barriers to trade, social and cultural interchange or regional cooperation with neighbouring countries. Therefore, the Council and the European Parliament adopted in 2006 a Regulation laying down rules on local border traffic at the external land borders of the Member States[1] ("Local Border Traffic Regulation") which allows derogating, for persons living in a border area, from the general rules on border checks set out in the Schengen Borders Code. The Regulation authorises Member States to conclude bilateral agreements with neighbouring non-EU countries, provided these agreements fully comply with the parameters set by the Regulation. In February 2011, the Commission concluded in its second report[2] that the local border traffic regime makes life significantly easier for people living near the external land borders, while at the same time there is little evidence that the regime is being abused. The Commission also stated that given the specific position of Kaliningrad -the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation with a population of almost one million inhabitants became the only enclave within the EU as a consequence of the 2004 EU enlargement- an amendment of the Local Border Traffic Regulation may be justified. Indeed, the Kaliningrad enclave has an exceptional geographic position as a relatively small area which is completely surrounded by two EU Member States; the oblast in its entirety has the character of a border area. There are no other areas within Europe with a similar geographic situation constituting an enclave. In order to avoid Kaliningrad's isolation from its immediate neighbours, there is a need to facilitate travel for its inhabitants. Even though the EU-Russian Federation agreement on visa facilitation in force since 2007 already is a significant step forward to enhance opportunities for mobility, the local border traffic regime offers additional facilitations specifically for regular, even daily, needs for travel within the local area. For examples, applicants will not have to prove sufficient means of subsistence, the permit may be issued free of charge, or separate lanes and/or specific border crossing points could be reserved or set up for local border traffic. Also, all residents of the Kaliningrad area would enjoy these facilitations, whereas some of the facilitations in the EU-Russian Federation visa facilitation agreement apply to certain categories of persons only. In order also to prevent an artificial division of the Kaliningrad oblast, whereby some inhabitants would enjoy facilitations for local border traffic while the majority (including the inhabitants of the city of Kaliningrad) would not, the entire Kaliningrad area should be eligible as a border area in a bilateral agreement between a Member State and the Russian Federation. It should be noted that this eligible border area could not be extended any further. In this context, and for the Regulation to have real effect in that region, a specific border area on the Polish side should be included in the eligible border area as well, in order to facilitate and enhance economic and cultural interchange between the Kaliningrad oblast on the one hand and major centres in the North of Poland on the other. It is underlined that this exceptional extension of the border zone in the Kaliningrad area does not affect the general definition of the eligible border area (the 30/50 km zone). Also, all rules and conditions in the Local Border Traffic Regulation that guarantee the security of the entire Schengen area continue to apply. In particular, the local border traffic permits will continue to have the security features as set out in the Regulation, and local border traffic permits may only be issued to applicants who fulfil all conditions set out in the Regulation. Also, Poland is obliged to ensure that any abuse of the local border traffic regime is subject to effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties, which shall include the possibility of cancelling and revoking local border traffic permits. In this context, the Polish authorities have already committed themselves to launch targeted information campaigns and to mark clearly the local border traffic area. This proposal will contribute to further promoting the strategic partnership between the EU and the Russian Federation, in line with the priorities set out in the Roadmap of the Common Space on Freedom, Security and Justice regarding cross-border cooperation and shall be considered in the context of the overall EU - Russian Federation relationship.
Revised version (Article 4 ):
Border residents may cross the external land border of a neighbouring Member State under the local border traffic regime, on condition that they: (a) are in possession of a local border traffic permit and, if so required by the relevant bilateral Agreement referred to in Article 13, a valid travel document or documents; (b) are not persons for whom an alert has been issued in the Schengen Information System (SIS) for the purposes of refusing them entry; (c) are not considered to be a threat to public policy, internal security, public health or the international relations of any of the Member States, and in particular where no alert has been issued in Member States' national databases for the purposes of refusing entry on the same grounds.
Article 5 
Durée du séjour dans la zone frontalière Les accords bilatéraux visés à l'article 13 précisent la durée maximale autorisée dans le cadre du régime propre au petit trafic frontalier pour chaque séjour non interrompu effectué, celle-ci ne pouvant dépasser trois mois. Article 6 Contrôles d'entrée et de sortie 1. Les États membres soumettent les frontaliers à des contrôles d'entrée et de sortie afin de s'assurer que ceux-ci remplissent les conditions visées à l'article 4. 2. Il n'est pas apposé de cachet d'entrée ou de sortie sur le permis délivré en vue du franchissement local de la frontière en vertu du régime propre au petit trafic frontalier. 3. Le paragraphe 1 s'entend sans préjudice de l'article 15.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL It is in the interest of the enlarged European Union to ensure that the borders with its neighbours are no barriers to trade, social and cultural interchange or regional cooperation with neighbouring countries. Therefore, the Council and the European Parliament adopted in 2006 a Regulation laying down rules on local border traffic at the external land borders of the Member States[1] ("Local Border Traffic Regulation") which allows derogating, for persons living in a border area, from the general rules on border checks set out in the Schengen Borders Code. The Regulation authorises Member States to conclude bilateral agreements with neighbouring non-EU countries, provided these agreements fully comply with the parameters set by the Regulation. In February 2011, the Commission concluded in its second report[2] that the local border traffic regime makes life significantly easier for people living near the external land borders, while at the same time there is little evidence that the regime is being abused. The Commission also stated that given the specific position of Kaliningrad -the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation with a population of almost one million inhabitants became the only enclave within the EU as a consequence of the 2004 EU enlargement- an amendment of the Local Border Traffic Regulation may be justified. Indeed, the Kaliningrad enclave has an exceptional geographic position as a relatively small area which is completely surrounded by two EU Member States; the oblast in its entirety has the character of a border area. There are no other areas within Europe with a similar geographic situation constituting an enclave. In order to avoid Kaliningrad's isolation from its immediate neighbours, there is a need to facilitate travel for its inhabitants. Even though the EU-Russian Federation agreement on visa facilitation in force since 2007 already is a significant step forward to enhance opportunities for mobility, the local border traffic regime offers additional facilitations specifically for regular, even daily, needs for travel within the local area. For examples, applicants will not have to prove sufficient means of subsistence, the permit may be issued free of charge, or separate lanes and/or specific border crossing points could be reserved or set up for local border traffic. Also, all residents of the Kaliningrad area would enjoy these facilitations, whereas some of the facilitations in the EU-Russian Federation visa facilitation agreement apply to certain categories of persons only. In order also to prevent an artificial division of the Kaliningrad oblast, whereby some inhabitants would enjoy facilitations for local border traffic while the majority (including the inhabitants of the city of Kaliningrad) would not, the entire Kaliningrad area should be eligible as a border area in a bilateral agreement between a Member State and the Russian Federation. It should be noted that this eligible border area could not be extended any further. In this context, and for the Regulation to have real effect in that region, a specific border area on the Polish side should be included in the eligible border area as well, in order to facilitate and enhance economic and cultural interchange between the Kaliningrad oblast on the one hand and major centres in the North of Poland on the other. It is underlined that this exceptional extension of the border zone in the Kaliningrad area does not affect the general definition of the eligible border area (the 30/50 km zone). Also, all rules and conditions in the Local Border Traffic Regulation that guarantee the security of the entire Schengen area continue to apply. In particular, the local border traffic permits will continue to have the security features as set out in the Regulation, and local border traffic permits may only be issued to applicants who fulfil all conditions set out in the Regulation. Also, Poland is obliged to ensure that any abuse of the local border traffic regime is subject to effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties, which shall include the possibility of cancelling and revoking local border traffic permits. In this context, the Polish authorities have already committed themselves to launch targeted information campaigns and to mark clearly the local border traffic area. This proposal will contribute to further promoting the strategic partnership between the EU and the Russian Federation, in line with the priorities set out in the Roadmap of the Common Space on Freedom, Security and Justice regarding cross-border cooperation and shall be considered in the context of the overall EU - Russian Federation relationship.
Article 6 
Contrôles d'entrée et de sortie 1. Les États membres soumettent les frontaliers à des contrôles d'entrée et de sortie afin de s'assurer que ceux-ci remplissent les conditions visées à l'article 4. 2. Il n'est pas apposé de cachet d'entrée ou de sortie sur le permis délivré en vue du franchissement local de la frontière en vertu du régime propre au petit trafic frontalier. 3. Le paragraphe 1 s'entend sans préjudice de l'article 15.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL It is in the interest of the enlarged European Union to ensure that the borders with its neighbours are no barriers to trade, social and cultural interchange or regional cooperation with neighbouring countries. Therefore, the Council and the European Parliament adopted in 2006 a Regulation laying down rules on local border traffic at the external land borders of the Member States[1] ("Local Border Traffic Regulation") which allows derogating, for persons living in a border area, from the general rules on border checks set out in the Schengen Borders Code. The Regulation authorises Member States to conclude bilateral agreements with neighbouring non-EU countries, provided these agreements fully comply with the parameters set by the Regulation. In February 2011, the Commission concluded in its second report[2] that the local border traffic regime makes life significantly easier for people living near the external land borders, while at the same time there is little evidence that the regime is being abused. The Commission also stated that given the specific position of Kaliningrad -the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation with a population of almost one million inhabitants became the only enclave within the EU as a consequence of the 2004 EU enlargement- an amendment of the Local Border Traffic Regulation may be justified. Indeed, the Kaliningrad enclave has an exceptional geographic position as a relatively small area which is completely surrounded by two EU Member States; the oblast in its entirety has the character of a border area. There are no other areas within Europe with a similar geographic situation constituting an enclave. In order to avoid Kaliningrad's isolation from its immediate neighbours, there is a need to facilitate travel for its inhabitants. Even though the EU-Russian Federation agreement on visa facilitation in force since 2007 already is a significant step forward to enhance opportunities for mobility, the local border traffic regime offers additional facilitations specifically for regular, even daily, needs for travel within the local area. For examples, applicants will not have to prove sufficient means of subsistence, the permit may be issued free of charge, or separate lanes and/or specific border crossing points could be reserved or set up for local border traffic. Also, all residents of the Kaliningrad area would enjoy these facilitations, whereas some of the facilitations in the EU-Russian Federation visa facilitation agreement apply to certain categories of persons only. In order also to prevent an artificial division of the Kaliningrad oblast, whereby some inhabitants would enjoy facilitations for local border traffic while the majority (including the inhabitants of the city of Kaliningrad) would not, the entire Kaliningrad area should be eligible as a border area in a bilateral agreement between a Member State and the Russian Federation. It should be noted that this eligible border area could not be extended any further. In this context, and for the Regulation to have real effect in that region, a specific border area on the Polish side should be included in the eligible border area as well, in order to facilitate and enhance economic and cultural interchange between the Kaliningrad oblast on the one hand and major centres in the North of Poland on the other. It is underlined that this exceptional extension of the border zone in the Kaliningrad area does not affect the general definition of the eligible border area (the 30/50 km zone). Also, all rules and conditions in the Local Border Traffic Regulation that guarantee the security of the entire Schengen area continue to apply. In particular, the local border traffic permits will continue to have the security features as set out in the Regulation, and local border traffic permits may only be issued to applicants who fulfil all conditions set out in the Regulation. Also, Poland is obliged to ensure that any abuse of the local border traffic regime is subject to effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties, which shall include the possibility of cancelling and revoking local border traffic permits. In this context, the Polish authorities have already committed themselves to launch targeted information campaigns and to mark clearly the local border traffic area. This proposal will contribute to further promoting the strategic partnership between the EU and the Russian Federation, in line with the priorities set out in the Roadmap of the Common Space on Freedom, Security and Justice regarding cross-border cooperation and shall be considered in the context of the overall EU - Russian Federation relationship.
Revised version (Article 6 ):
1. Member States shall carry out entry and exit checks on border residents in order to ensure that they fulfil the conditions set out in Article 4. 2. No entry or exit stamps shall be affixed to the local border traffic permit under the local border traffic regime. 3. Paragraph 1 shall be without prejudice to Article 15.
Article 7 
Instauration d'un permis délivré en vue du franchissement local de la frontière 1. Il est instauré un permis délivré en vue du franchissement local de la frontière. 2. La validité territoriale du permis en vue du franchissement local de la frontière est limitée à la zone frontalière de l'État membre de délivrance. 3. Le permis délivré en vue du franchissement local de la frontière comporte une photographie de son titulaire et contient au minimum les informations suivantes: a) le nom, le prénom, la date de naissance, la nationalité et le lieu de résidence du titulaire du permis; b) l'autorité de délivrance, la date de délivrance et la période de validité; c) la zone frontalière dans laquelle le titulaire du permis est autorisé à circuler; d) le numéro d'au moins un document de voyage en cours de validité autorisant son titulaire à franchir les frontières extérieures, tel que prévu à l'article 9, point a). Il mentionne clairement que le titulaire n'est pas autorisé à se déplacer en dehors de la zone frontalière et que tout usage abusif est passible des sanctions prévues à l'article 17. Article 8 Éléments de sécurité et spécifications techniques liés au permis de franchissement local de la frontière 1. Les éléments de sécurité et spécifications techniques du permis de franchissement local de la frontière sont conformes aux dispositions concernées du règlement (CE) no 1030/2002 du Conseil du 13 juin 2002 établissant un modèle uniforme de titre de séjour pour les ressortissants de pays tiers [14]. 2. Les États membres communiquent à la Commission et aux autres États membres un modèle de permis pour le franchissement local de la frontière établi conformément au paragraphe 1. Article 9 Conditions de délivrance Le permis de franchissement local de la frontière peut être délivré aux frontaliers qui: a) sont en possession d'au moins un document de voyage en cours de validité les autorisant à franchir les frontières extérieures, tel que défini dans les dispositions de l'article 17, paragraphe 3, point a), de la convention de Schengen; b) produisent des documents justifiant de leur statut de frontaliers et de l'existence de raisons légitimes de franchir fréquemment une frontière terrestre extérieure en vertu du régime propre au petit trafic frontalier; c) n'ont pas été signalés dans le SIS aux fins de non-admission; d) ne sont pas considérés comme une menace pour l'ordre public, la sécurité intérieure, la santé publique ou les relations internationales de l'un des États membres, et notamment n'ont pas été signalés dans les fichiers de recherche nationaux des États membres aux fins de non-admission, pour les mêmes motifs. Article 10 Validité La durée de validité du permis délivré en vue du franchissement local de la frontière est d'un an au minimum et de cinq ans au maximum. Article 11 Frais de délivrance Les droits correspondant aux frais administratifs de traitement de la demande du permis ne peuvent être supérieurs à ceux qui sont perçus pour le traitement des demandes de visa de court séjour à entrées multiples. Le permis de franchissement local de la frontière peut être délivré gratuitement. Article 12 Modalités de délivrance 1. Le permis de franchissement local de la frontière peut être délivré soit par les consulats soit par toute autorité administrative des États membres désignée dans le cadre des accords bilatéraux visés à l'article 13. 2. Les États membres tiennent un registre central des permis pour le petit trafic frontalier, qui sont demandés, délivrés, prorogés et annulés ou retirés, et désignent un point de contact national chargé de fournir sans délai, à la demande des autres États membres, des informations sur les permis introduits dans ce registre.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL It is in the interest of the enlarged European Union to ensure that the borders with its neighbours are no barriers to trade, social and cultural interchange or regional cooperation with neighbouring countries. Therefore, the Council and the European Parliament adopted in 2006 a Regulation laying down rules on local border traffic at the external land borders of the Member States[1] ("Local Border Traffic Regulation") which allows derogating, for persons living in a border area, from the general rules on border checks set out in the Schengen Borders Code. The Regulation authorises Member States to conclude bilateral agreements with neighbouring non-EU countries, provided these agreements fully comply with the parameters set by the Regulation. In February 2011, the Commission concluded in its second report[2] that the local border traffic regime makes life significantly easier for people living near the external land borders, while at the same time there is little evidence that the regime is being abused. The Commission also stated that given the specific position of Kaliningrad -the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation with a population of almost one million inhabitants became the only enclave within the EU as a consequence of the 2004 EU enlargement- an amendment of the Local Border Traffic Regulation may be justified. Indeed, the Kaliningrad enclave has an exceptional geographic position as a relatively small area which is completely surrounded by two EU Member States; the oblast in its entirety has the character of a border area. There are no other areas within Europe with a similar geographic situation constituting an enclave. In order to avoid Kaliningrad's isolation from its immediate neighbours, there is a need to facilitate travel for its inhabitants. Even though the EU-Russian Federation agreement on visa facilitation in force since 2007 already is a significant step forward to enhance opportunities for mobility, the local border traffic regime offers additional facilitations specifically for regular, even daily, needs for travel within the local area. For examples, applicants will not have to prove sufficient means of subsistence, the permit may be issued free of charge, or separate lanes and/or specific border crossing points could be reserved or set up for local border traffic. Also, all residents of the Kaliningrad area would enjoy these facilitations, whereas some of the facilitations in the EU-Russian Federation visa facilitation agreement apply to certain categories of persons only. In order also to prevent an artificial division of the Kaliningrad oblast, whereby some inhabitants would enjoy facilitations for local border traffic while the majority (including the inhabitants of the city of Kaliningrad) would not, the entire Kaliningrad area should be eligible as a border area in a bilateral agreement between a Member State and the Russian Federation. It should be noted that this eligible border area could not be extended any further. In this context, and for the Regulation to have real effect in that region, a specific border area on the Polish side should be included in the eligible border area as well, in order to facilitate and enhance economic and cultural interchange between the Kaliningrad oblast on the one hand and major centres in the North of Poland on the other. It is underlined that this exceptional extension of the border zone in the Kaliningrad area does not affect the general definition of the eligible border area (the 30/50 km zone). Also, all rules and conditions in the Local Border Traffic Regulation that guarantee the security of the entire Schengen area continue to apply. In particular, the local border traffic permits will continue to have the security features as set out in the Regulation, and local border traffic permits may only be issued to applicants who fulfil all conditions set out in the Regulation. Also, Poland is obliged to ensure that any abuse of the local border traffic regime is subject to effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties, which shall include the possibility of cancelling and revoking local border traffic permits. In this context, the Polish authorities have already committed themselves to launch targeted information campaigns and to mark clearly the local border traffic area. This proposal will contribute to further promoting the strategic partnership between the EU and the Russian Federation, in line with the priorities set out in the Roadmap of the Common Space on Freedom, Security and Justice regarding cross-border cooperation and shall be considered in the context of the overall EU - Russian Federation relationship.
Article 8 
Éléments de sécurité et spécifications techniques liés au permis de franchissement local de la frontière 1. Les éléments de sécurité et spécifications techniques du permis de franchissement local de la frontière sont conformes aux dispositions concernées du règlement (CE) no 1030/2002 du Conseil du 13 juin 2002 établissant un modèle uniforme de titre de séjour pour les ressortissants de pays tiers [14]. 2. Les États membres communiquent à la Commission et aux autres États membres un modèle de permis pour le franchissement local de la frontière établi conformément au paragraphe 1. Article 9 Conditions de délivrance Le permis de franchissement local de la frontière peut être délivré aux frontaliers qui: a) sont en possession d'au moins un document de voyage en cours de validité les autorisant à franchir les frontières extérieures, tel que défini dans les dispositions de l'article 17, paragraphe 3, point a), de la convention de Schengen; b) produisent des documents justifiant de leur statut de frontaliers et de l'existence de raisons légitimes de franchir fréquemment une frontière terrestre extérieure en vertu du régime propre au petit trafic frontalier; c) n'ont pas été signalés dans le SIS aux fins de non-admission; d) ne sont pas considérés comme une menace pour l'ordre public, la sécurité intérieure, la santé publique ou les relations internationales de l'un des États membres, et notamment n'ont pas été signalés dans les fichiers de recherche nationaux des États membres aux fins de non-admission, pour les mêmes motifs. Article 10 Validité La durée de validité du permis délivré en vue du franchissement local de la frontière est d'un an au minimum et de cinq ans au maximum. Article 11 Frais de délivrance Les droits correspondant aux frais administratifs de traitement de la demande du permis ne peuvent être supérieurs à ceux qui sont perçus pour le traitement des demandes de visa de court séjour à entrées multiples. Le permis de franchissement local de la frontière peut être délivré gratuitement. Article 12 Modalités de délivrance 1. Le permis de franchissement local de la frontière peut être délivré soit par les consulats soit par toute autorité administrative des États membres désignée dans le cadre des accords bilatéraux visés à l'article 13. 2. Les États membres tiennent un registre central des permis pour le petit trafic frontalier, qui sont demandés, délivrés, prorogés et annulés ou retirés, et désignent un point de contact national chargé de fournir sans délai, à la demande des autres États membres, des informations sur les permis introduits dans ce registre.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL It is in the interest of the enlarged European Union to ensure that the borders with its neighbours are no barriers to trade, social and cultural interchange or regional cooperation with neighbouring countries. Therefore, the Council and the European Parliament adopted in 2006 a Regulation laying down rules on local border traffic at the external land borders of the Member States[1] ("Local Border Traffic Regulation") which allows derogating, for persons living in a border area, from the general rules on border checks set out in the Schengen Borders Code. The Regulation authorises Member States to conclude bilateral agreements with neighbouring non-EU countries, provided these agreements fully comply with the parameters set by the Regulation. In February 2011, the Commission concluded in its second report[2] that the local border traffic regime makes life significantly easier for people living near the external land borders, while at the same time there is little evidence that the regime is being abused. The Commission also stated that given the specific position of Kaliningrad -the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation with a population of almost one million inhabitants became the only enclave within the EU as a consequence of the 2004 EU enlargement- an amendment of the Local Border Traffic Regulation may be justified. Indeed, the Kaliningrad enclave has an exceptional geographic position as a relatively small area which is completely surrounded by two EU Member States; the oblast in its entirety has the character of a border area. There are no other areas within Europe with a similar geographic situation constituting an enclave. In order to avoid Kaliningrad's isolation from its immediate neighbours, there is a need to facilitate travel for its inhabitants. Even though the EU-Russian Federation agreement on visa facilitation in force since 2007 already is a significant step forward to enhance opportunities for mobility, the local border traffic regime offers additional facilitations specifically for regular, even daily, needs for travel within the local area. For examples, applicants will not have to prove sufficient means of subsistence, the permit may be issued free of charge, or separate lanes and/or specific border crossing points could be reserved or set up for local border traffic. Also, all residents of the Kaliningrad area would enjoy these facilitations, whereas some of the facilitations in the EU-Russian Federation visa facilitation agreement apply to certain categories of persons only. In order also to prevent an artificial division of the Kaliningrad oblast, whereby some inhabitants would enjoy facilitations for local border traffic while the majority (including the inhabitants of the city of Kaliningrad) would not, the entire Kaliningrad area should be eligible as a border area in a bilateral agreement between a Member State and the Russian Federation. It should be noted that this eligible border area could not be extended any further. In this context, and for the Regulation to have real effect in that region, a specific border area on the Polish side should be included in the eligible border area as well, in order to facilitate and enhance economic and cultural interchange between the Kaliningrad oblast on the one hand and major centres in the North of Poland on the other. It is underlined that this exceptional extension of the border zone in the Kaliningrad area does not affect the general definition of the eligible border area (the 30/50 km zone). Also, all rules and conditions in the Local Border Traffic Regulation that guarantee the security of the entire Schengen area continue to apply. In particular, the local border traffic permits will continue to have the security features as set out in the Regulation, and local border traffic permits may only be issued to applicants who fulfil all conditions set out in the Regulation. Also, Poland is obliged to ensure that any abuse of the local border traffic regime is subject to effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties, which shall include the possibility of cancelling and revoking local border traffic permits. In this context, the Polish authorities have already committed themselves to launch targeted information campaigns and to mark clearly the local border traffic area. This proposal will contribute to further promoting the strategic partnership between the EU and the Russian Federation, in line with the priorities set out in the Roadmap of the Common Space on Freedom, Security and Justice regarding cross-border cooperation and shall be considered in the context of the overall EU - Russian Federation relationship.
Revised version (Article 8 ):
1. The security features and technical specifications of the local border traffic permit shall comply with the relevant provisions of Council Regulation (EC) No 1030/2002 of 13 June 2002 laying down a uniform format for residence permits for third-country nationals ( 14 ). 2. Member States shall forward to the Commission and to the other Member States a specimen of the local border traffic permit drawn up in accordance with paragraph 1.
Article 9 
Conditions de délivrance Le permis de franchissement local de la frontière peut être délivré aux frontaliers qui: a) sont en possession d'au moins un document de voyage en cours de validité les autorisant à franchir les frontières extérieures, tel que défini dans les dispositions de l'article 17, paragraphe 3, point a), de la convention de Schengen; b) produisent des documents justifiant de leur statut de frontaliers et de l'existence de raisons légitimes de franchir fréquemment une frontière terrestre extérieure en vertu du régime propre au petit trafic frontalier; c) n'ont pas été signalés dans le SIS aux fins de non-admission; d) ne sont pas considérés comme une menace pour l'ordre public, la sécurité intérieure, la santé publique ou les relations internationales de l'un des États membres, et notamment n'ont pas été signalés dans les fichiers de recherche nationaux des États membres aux fins de non-admission, pour les mêmes motifs. Article 10 Validité La durée de validité du permis délivré en vue du franchissement local de la frontière est d'un an au minimum et de cinq ans au maximum. Article 11 Frais de délivrance Les droits correspondant aux frais administratifs de traitement de la demande du permis ne peuvent être supérieurs à ceux qui sont perçus pour le traitement des demandes de visa de court séjour à entrées multiples. Le permis de franchissement local de la frontière peut être délivré gratuitement. Article 12 Modalités de délivrance 1. Le permis de franchissement local de la frontière peut être délivré soit par les consulats soit par toute autorité administrative des États membres désignée dans le cadre des accords bilatéraux visés à l'article 13. 2. Les États membres tiennent un registre central des permis pour le petit trafic frontalier, qui sont demandés, délivrés, prorogés et annulés ou retirés, et désignent un point de contact national chargé de fournir sans délai, à la demande des autres États membres, des informations sur les permis introduits dans ce registre.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL It is in the interest of the enlarged European Union to ensure that the borders with its neighbours are no barriers to trade, social and cultural interchange or regional cooperation with neighbouring countries. Therefore, the Council and the European Parliament adopted in 2006 a Regulation laying down rules on local border traffic at the external land borders of the Member States[1] ("Local Border Traffic Regulation") which allows derogating, for persons living in a border area, from the general rules on border checks set out in the Schengen Borders Code. The Regulation authorises Member States to conclude bilateral agreements with neighbouring non-EU countries, provided these agreements fully comply with the parameters set by the Regulation. In February 2011, the Commission concluded in its second report[2] that the local border traffic regime makes life significantly easier for people living near the external land borders, while at the same time there is little evidence that the regime is being abused. The Commission also stated that given the specific position of Kaliningrad -the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation with a population of almost one million inhabitants became the only enclave within the EU as a consequence of the 2004 EU enlargement- an amendment of the Local Border Traffic Regulation may be justified. Indeed, the Kaliningrad enclave has an exceptional geographic position as a relatively small area which is completely surrounded by two EU Member States; the oblast in its entirety has the character of a border area. There are no other areas within Europe with a similar geographic situation constituting an enclave. In order to avoid Kaliningrad's isolation from its immediate neighbours, there is a need to facilitate travel for its inhabitants. Even though the EU-Russian Federation agreement on visa facilitation in force since 2007 already is a significant step forward to enhance opportunities for mobility, the local border traffic regime offers additional facilitations specifically for regular, even daily, needs for travel within the local area. For examples, applicants will not have to prove sufficient means of subsistence, the permit may be issued free of charge, or separate lanes and/or specific border crossing points could be reserved or set up for local border traffic. Also, all residents of the Kaliningrad area would enjoy these facilitations, whereas some of the facilitations in the EU-Russian Federation visa facilitation agreement apply to certain categories of persons only. In order also to prevent an artificial division of the Kaliningrad oblast, whereby some inhabitants would enjoy facilitations for local border traffic while the majority (including the inhabitants of the city of Kaliningrad) would not, the entire Kaliningrad area should be eligible as a border area in a bilateral agreement between a Member State and the Russian Federation. It should be noted that this eligible border area could not be extended any further. In this context, and for the Regulation to have real effect in that region, a specific border area on the Polish side should be included in the eligible border area as well, in order to facilitate and enhance economic and cultural interchange between the Kaliningrad oblast on the one hand and major centres in the North of Poland on the other. It is underlined that this exceptional extension of the border zone in the Kaliningrad area does not affect the general definition of the eligible border area (the 30/50 km zone). Also, all rules and conditions in the Local Border Traffic Regulation that guarantee the security of the entire Schengen area continue to apply. In particular, the local border traffic permits will continue to have the security features as set out in the Regulation, and local border traffic permits may only be issued to applicants who fulfil all conditions set out in the Regulation. Also, Poland is obliged to ensure that any abuse of the local border traffic regime is subject to effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties, which shall include the possibility of cancelling and revoking local border traffic permits. In this context, the Polish authorities have already committed themselves to launch targeted information campaigns and to mark clearly the local border traffic area. This proposal will contribute to further promoting the strategic partnership between the EU and the Russian Federation, in line with the priorities set out in the Roadmap of the Common Space on Freedom, Security and Justice regarding cross-border cooperation and shall be considered in the context of the overall EU - Russian Federation relationship.
Article 10 
Validité La durée de validité du permis délivré en vue du franchissement local de la frontière est d'un an au minimum et de cinq ans au maximum. Article 11 Frais de délivrance Les droits correspondant aux frais administratifs de traitement de la demande du permis ne peuvent être supérieurs à ceux qui sont perçus pour le traitement des demandes de visa de court séjour à entrées multiples. Le permis de franchissement local de la frontière peut être délivré gratuitement. Article 12 Modalités de délivrance 1. Le permis de franchissement local de la frontière peut être délivré soit par les consulats soit par toute autorité administrative des États membres désignée dans le cadre des accords bilatéraux visés à l'article 13. 2. Les États membres tiennent un registre central des permis pour le petit trafic frontalier, qui sont demandés, délivrés, prorogés et annulés ou retirés, et désignent un point de contact national chargé de fournir sans délai, à la demande des autres États membres, des informations sur les permis introduits dans ce registre.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL It is in the interest of the enlarged European Union to ensure that the borders with its neighbours are no barriers to trade, social and cultural interchange or regional cooperation with neighbouring countries. Therefore, the Council and the European Parliament adopted in 2006 a Regulation laying down rules on local border traffic at the external land borders of the Member States[1] ("Local Border Traffic Regulation") which allows derogating, for persons living in a border area, from the general rules on border checks set out in the Schengen Borders Code. The Regulation authorises Member States to conclude bilateral agreements with neighbouring non-EU countries, provided these agreements fully comply with the parameters set by the Regulation. In February 2011, the Commission concluded in its second report[2] that the local border traffic regime makes life significantly easier for people living near the external land borders, while at the same time there is little evidence that the regime is being abused. The Commission also stated that given the specific position of Kaliningrad -the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation with a population of almost one million inhabitants became the only enclave within the EU as a consequence of the 2004 EU enlargement- an amendment of the Local Border Traffic Regulation may be justified. Indeed, the Kaliningrad enclave has an exceptional geographic position as a relatively small area which is completely surrounded by two EU Member States; the oblast in its entirety has the character of a border area. There are no other areas within Europe with a similar geographic situation constituting an enclave. In order to avoid Kaliningrad's isolation from its immediate neighbours, there is a need to facilitate travel for its inhabitants. Even though the EU-Russian Federation agreement on visa facilitation in force since 2007 already is a significant step forward to enhance opportunities for mobility, the local border traffic regime offers additional facilitations specifically for regular, even daily, needs for travel within the local area. For examples, applicants will not have to prove sufficient means of subsistence, the permit may be issued free of charge, or separate lanes and/or specific border crossing points could be reserved or set up for local border traffic. Also, all residents of the Kaliningrad area would enjoy these facilitations, whereas some of the facilitations in the EU-Russian Federation visa facilitation agreement apply to certain categories of persons only. In order also to prevent an artificial division of the Kaliningrad oblast, whereby some inhabitants would enjoy facilitations for local border traffic while the majority (including the inhabitants of the city of Kaliningrad) would not, the entire Kaliningrad area should be eligible as a border area in a bilateral agreement between a Member State and the Russian Federation. It should be noted that this eligible border area could not be extended any further. In this context, and for the Regulation to have real effect in that region, a specific border area on the Polish side should be included in the eligible border area as well, in order to facilitate and enhance economic and cultural interchange between the Kaliningrad oblast on the one hand and major centres in the North of Poland on the other. It is underlined that this exceptional extension of the border zone in the Kaliningrad area does not affect the general definition of the eligible border area (the 30/50 km zone). Also, all rules and conditions in the Local Border Traffic Regulation that guarantee the security of the entire Schengen area continue to apply. In particular, the local border traffic permits will continue to have the security features as set out in the Regulation, and local border traffic permits may only be issued to applicants who fulfil all conditions set out in the Regulation. Also, Poland is obliged to ensure that any abuse of the local border traffic regime is subject to effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties, which shall include the possibility of cancelling and revoking local border traffic permits. In this context, the Polish authorities have already committed themselves to launch targeted information campaigns and to mark clearly the local border traffic area. This proposal will contribute to further promoting the strategic partnership between the EU and the Russian Federation, in line with the priorities set out in the Roadmap of the Common Space on Freedom, Security and Justice regarding cross-border cooperation and shall be considered in the context of the overall EU - Russian Federation relationship.
Article 11 
Frais de délivrance Les droits correspondant aux frais administratifs de traitement de la demande du permis ne peuvent être supérieurs à ceux qui sont perçus pour le traitement des demandes de visa de court séjour à entrées multiples. Le permis de franchissement local de la frontière peut être délivré gratuitement. Article 12 Modalités de délivrance 1. Le permis de franchissement local de la frontière peut être délivré soit par les consulats soit par toute autorité administrative des États membres désignée dans le cadre des accords bilatéraux visés à l'article 13. 2. Les États membres tiennent un registre central des permis pour le petit trafic frontalier, qui sont demandés, délivrés, prorogés et annulés ou retirés, et désignent un point de contact national chargé de fournir sans délai, à la demande des autres États membres, des informations sur les permis introduits dans ce registre.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL It is in the interest of the enlarged European Union to ensure that the borders with its neighbours are no barriers to trade, social and cultural interchange or regional cooperation with neighbouring countries. Therefore, the Council and the European Parliament adopted in 2006 a Regulation laying down rules on local border traffic at the external land borders of the Member States[1] ("Local Border Traffic Regulation") which allows derogating, for persons living in a border area, from the general rules on border checks set out in the Schengen Borders Code. The Regulation authorises Member States to conclude bilateral agreements with neighbouring non-EU countries, provided these agreements fully comply with the parameters set by the Regulation. In February 2011, the Commission concluded in its second report[2] that the local border traffic regime makes life significantly easier for people living near the external land borders, while at the same time there is little evidence that the regime is being abused. The Commission also stated that given the specific position of Kaliningrad -the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation with a population of almost one million inhabitants became the only enclave within the EU as a consequence of the 2004 EU enlargement- an amendment of the Local Border Traffic Regulation may be justified. Indeed, the Kaliningrad enclave has an exceptional geographic position as a relatively small area which is completely surrounded by two EU Member States; the oblast in its entirety has the character of a border area. There are no other areas within Europe with a similar geographic situation constituting an enclave. In order to avoid Kaliningrad's isolation from its immediate neighbours, there is a need to facilitate travel for its inhabitants. Even though the EU-Russian Federation agreement on visa facilitation in force since 2007 already is a significant step forward to enhance opportunities for mobility, the local border traffic regime offers additional facilitations specifically for regular, even daily, needs for travel within the local area. For examples, applicants will not have to prove sufficient means of subsistence, the permit may be issued free of charge, or separate lanes and/or specific border crossing points could be reserved or set up for local border traffic. Also, all residents of the Kaliningrad area would enjoy these facilitations, whereas some of the facilitations in the EU-Russian Federation visa facilitation agreement apply to certain categories of persons only. In order also to prevent an artificial division of the Kaliningrad oblast, whereby some inhabitants would enjoy facilitations for local border traffic while the majority (including the inhabitants of the city of Kaliningrad) would not, the entire Kaliningrad area should be eligible as a border area in a bilateral agreement between a Member State and the Russian Federation. It should be noted that this eligible border area could not be extended any further. In this context, and for the Regulation to have real effect in that region, a specific border area on the Polish side should be included in the eligible border area as well, in order to facilitate and enhance economic and cultural interchange between the Kaliningrad oblast on the one hand and major centres in the North of Poland on the other. It is underlined that this exceptional extension of the border zone in the Kaliningrad area does not affect the general definition of the eligible border area (the 30/50 km zone). Also, all rules and conditions in the Local Border Traffic Regulation that guarantee the security of the entire Schengen area continue to apply. In particular, the local border traffic permits will continue to have the security features as set out in the Regulation, and local border traffic permits may only be issued to applicants who fulfil all conditions set out in the Regulation. Also, Poland is obliged to ensure that any abuse of the local border traffic regime is subject to effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties, which shall include the possibility of cancelling and revoking local border traffic permits. In this context, the Polish authorities have already committed themselves to launch targeted information campaigns and to mark clearly the local border traffic area. This proposal will contribute to further promoting the strategic partnership between the EU and the Russian Federation, in line with the priorities set out in the Roadmap of the Common Space on Freedom, Security and Justice regarding cross-border cooperation and shall be considered in the context of the overall EU - Russian Federation relationship.
Article 12 
Modalités de délivrance 1. Le permis de franchissement local de la frontière peut être délivré soit par les consulats soit par toute autorité administrative des États membres désignée dans le cadre des accords bilatéraux visés à l'article 13. 2. Les États membres tiennent un registre central des permis pour le petit trafic frontalier, qui sont demandés, délivrés, prorogés et annulés ou retirés, et désignent un point de contact national chargé de fournir sans délai, à la demande des autres États membres, des informations sur les permis introduits dans ce registre.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL It is in the interest of the enlarged European Union to ensure that the borders with its neighbours are no barriers to trade, social and cultural interchange or regional cooperation with neighbouring countries. Therefore, the Council and the European Parliament adopted in 2006 a Regulation laying down rules on local border traffic at the external land borders of the Member States[1] ("Local Border Traffic Regulation") which allows derogating, for persons living in a border area, from the general rules on border checks set out in the Schengen Borders Code. The Regulation authorises Member States to conclude bilateral agreements with neighbouring non-EU countries, provided these agreements fully comply with the parameters set by the Regulation. In February 2011, the Commission concluded in its second report[2] that the local border traffic regime makes life significantly easier for people living near the external land borders, while at the same time there is little evidence that the regime is being abused. The Commission also stated that given the specific position of Kaliningrad -the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation with a population of almost one million inhabitants became the only enclave within the EU as a consequence of the 2004 EU enlargement- an amendment of the Local Border Traffic Regulation may be justified. Indeed, the Kaliningrad enclave has an exceptional geographic position as a relatively small area which is completely surrounded by two EU Member States; the oblast in its entirety has the character of a border area. There are no other areas within Europe with a similar geographic situation constituting an enclave. In order to avoid Kaliningrad's isolation from its immediate neighbours, there is a need to facilitate travel for its inhabitants. Even though the EU-Russian Federation agreement on visa facilitation in force since 2007 already is a significant step forward to enhance opportunities for mobility, the local border traffic regime offers additional facilitations specifically for regular, even daily, needs for travel within the local area. For examples, applicants will not have to prove sufficient means of subsistence, the permit may be issued free of charge, or separate lanes and/or specific border crossing points could be reserved or set up for local border traffic. Also, all residents of the Kaliningrad area would enjoy these facilitations, whereas some of the facilitations in the EU-Russian Federation visa facilitation agreement apply to certain categories of persons only. In order also to prevent an artificial division of the Kaliningrad oblast, whereby some inhabitants would enjoy facilitations for local border traffic while the majority (including the inhabitants of the city of Kaliningrad) would not, the entire Kaliningrad area should be eligible as a border area in a bilateral agreement between a Member State and the Russian Federation. It should be noted that this eligible border area could not be extended any further. In this context, and for the Regulation to have real effect in that region, a specific border area on the Polish side should be included in the eligible border area as well, in order to facilitate and enhance economic and cultural interchange between the Kaliningrad oblast on the one hand and major centres in the North of Poland on the other. It is underlined that this exceptional extension of the border zone in the Kaliningrad area does not affect the general definition of the eligible border area (the 30/50 km zone). Also, all rules and conditions in the Local Border Traffic Regulation that guarantee the security of the entire Schengen area continue to apply. In particular, the local border traffic permits will continue to have the security features as set out in the Regulation, and local border traffic permits may only be issued to applicants who fulfil all conditions set out in the Regulation. Also, Poland is obliged to ensure that any abuse of the local border traffic regime is subject to effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties, which shall include the possibility of cancelling and revoking local border traffic permits. In this context, the Polish authorities have already committed themselves to launch targeted information campaigns and to mark clearly the local border traffic area. This proposal will contribute to further promoting the strategic partnership between the EU and the Russian Federation, in line with the priorities set out in the Roadmap of the Common Space on Freedom, Security and Justice regarding cross-border cooperation and shall be considered in the context of the overall EU - Russian Federation relationship.
Revised version (Article 12 ):
1. The local border traffic permit may be issued by either a consulate or any administrative authority of a Member State designated in the bilateral Agreements referred to in Article 13. 2. Member States shall keep a central register of local border traffic permits applied for, issued, extended and cancelled or revoked and shall designate a national contact point responsible for providing without delay, upon request from other Member States, information on the permits entered in that register.
Article 13 
Accords bilatéraux entre États membres et pays tiers voisins 1. Aux fins de la mise en œuvre du régime propre au petit trafic frontalier, les États membres sont autorisés à conclure avec les pays tiers voisins des accords bilatéraux conformes aux règles énoncées dans le présent règlement. Les États membres peuvent aussi maintenir des accords bilatéraux déjà conclus avec les pays tiers voisins en matière de petit trafic frontalier. Si ces accords ne sont pas compatibles avec le présent règlement, les États membres concernés les modifient de manière à éliminer les incompatibilités constatées. 2. Avant de conclure ou de modifier tout accord bilatéral en matière de petit trafic frontalier avec un pays tiers voisin, l'État membre concerné consulte la Commission afin d'en vérifier la compatibilité avec le présent règlement. Si la Commission estime que l'accord est incompatible avec le présent règlement, elle en informe l'État membre concerné. L'État membre prend toutes les mesures nécessaires afin de modifier ledit accord dans un délai raisonnable, de manière à éliminer les incompatibilités constatées. 3. Lorsque la Communauté ou l'État membre concerné n'a pas conclu un accord général de réadmission avec un pays tiers, les accords bilatéraux en matière de petit trafic frontalier conclus avec ce pays tiers comportent des dispositions visant à faciliter la réadmission des personnes ayant fait une utilisation abusive du régime propre au petit trafic frontalier établi par le présent règlement. Article 14 Comparabilité de traitement Dans les accords bilatéraux visés à l'article 13, les États membres font en sorte que les pays tiers accordent aux personnes jouissant du droit communautaire à la libre circulation et aux ressortissants de pays tiers qui résident légalement dans la zone frontalière de l'État membre concerné un traitement au moins comparable à celui qui est accordé aux frontaliers du pays tiers concerné. Article 15 Franchissement facilité de la frontière 1. Les accords bilatéraux visés à l'article 13 peuvent contenir des dispositions facilitant le franchissement de la frontière, en vertu desquelles les États membres: a) créent des points de passage frontaliers spéciaux, réservés aux frontaliers; b) réservent des couloirs spéciaux aux frontaliers aux points de passage frontaliers ordinaires; ou c) compte tenu des circonstances locales et lorsque, à titre exceptionnel, il existe un besoin particulier, autorisent les frontaliers à franchir leur frontière terrestre extérieure en des points définis autres que les points de passage autorisés et en dehors des heures d'ouverture fixées. 2. Lorsqu'un État membre décide de faciliter le franchissement de la frontière pour les frontaliers, conformément au paragraphe 1, il facilite le franchissement de la frontière, de plein droit, pour toute personne jouissant du droit communautaire à la libre circulation, résidant dans la zone frontalière concernée. 3. Aux points de passage visés au paragraphe 1, point a), ainsi qu'aux couloirs spéciaux visés au paragraphe 1, point b), les personnes qui franchissent régulièrement la frontière et qui, pour cette raison, sont connues des gardes-frontières, ne sont généralement soumises qu'à un contrôle par sondage. Ces personnes sont soumises de temps en temps, inopinément et à intervalles irréguliers, à des contrôles approfondis. 4. Lorsqu'un État membre décide de faciliter le franchissement de la frontière par les frontaliers conformément au paragraphe 1, point c): a) le permis de franchissement local de la frontière comporte, outre les informations requises par l'article 7, paragraphe 3, des informations détaillées relatives à la localisation et aux circonstances dans lesquelles le franchissement de la frontière terrestre extérieure est autorisé; b) l'État membre en question procède à des contrôles par sondage et organise une surveillance régulière de manière à empêcher le franchissement non autorisé de la frontière.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL It is in the interest of the enlarged European Union to ensure that the borders with its neighbours are no barriers to trade, social and cultural interchange or regional cooperation with neighbouring countries. Therefore, the Council and the European Parliament adopted in 2006 a Regulation laying down rules on local border traffic at the external land borders of the Member States[1] ("Local Border Traffic Regulation") which allows derogating, for persons living in a border area, from the general rules on border checks set out in the Schengen Borders Code. The Regulation authorises Member States to conclude bilateral agreements with neighbouring non-EU countries, provided these agreements fully comply with the parameters set by the Regulation. In February 2011, the Commission concluded in its second report[2] that the local border traffic regime makes life significantly easier for people living near the external land borders, while at the same time there is little evidence that the regime is being abused. The Commission also stated that given the specific position of Kaliningrad -the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation with a population of almost one million inhabitants became the only enclave within the EU as a consequence of the 2004 EU enlargement- an amendment of the Local Border Traffic Regulation may be justified. Indeed, the Kaliningrad enclave has an exceptional geographic position as a relatively small area which is completely surrounded by two EU Member States; the oblast in its entirety has the character of a border area. There are no other areas within Europe with a similar geographic situation constituting an enclave. In order to avoid Kaliningrad's isolation from its immediate neighbours, there is a need to facilitate travel for its inhabitants. Even though the EU-Russian Federation agreement on visa facilitation in force since 2007 already is a significant step forward to enhance opportunities for mobility, the local border traffic regime offers additional facilitations specifically for regular, even daily, needs for travel within the local area. For examples, applicants will not have to prove sufficient means of subsistence, the permit may be issued free of charge, or separate lanes and/or specific border crossing points could be reserved or set up for local border traffic. Also, all residents of the Kaliningrad area would enjoy these facilitations, whereas some of the facilitations in the EU-Russian Federation visa facilitation agreement apply to certain categories of persons only. In order also to prevent an artificial division of the Kaliningrad oblast, whereby some inhabitants would enjoy facilitations for local border traffic while the majority (including the inhabitants of the city of Kaliningrad) would not, the entire Kaliningrad area should be eligible as a border area in a bilateral agreement between a Member State and the Russian Federation. It should be noted that this eligible border area could not be extended any further. In this context, and for the Regulation to have real effect in that region, a specific border area on the Polish side should be included in the eligible border area as well, in order to facilitate and enhance economic and cultural interchange between the Kaliningrad oblast on the one hand and major centres in the North of Poland on the other. It is underlined that this exceptional extension of the border zone in the Kaliningrad area does not affect the general definition of the eligible border area (the 30/50 km zone). Also, all rules and conditions in the Local Border Traffic Regulation that guarantee the security of the entire Schengen area continue to apply. In particular, the local border traffic permits will continue to have the security features as set out in the Regulation, and local border traffic permits may only be issued to applicants who fulfil all conditions set out in the Regulation. Also, Poland is obliged to ensure that any abuse of the local border traffic regime is subject to effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties, which shall include the possibility of cancelling and revoking local border traffic permits. In this context, the Polish authorities have already committed themselves to launch targeted information campaigns and to mark clearly the local border traffic area. This proposal will contribute to further promoting the strategic partnership between the EU and the Russian Federation, in line with the priorities set out in the Roadmap of the Common Space on Freedom, Security and Justice regarding cross-border cooperation and shall be considered in the context of the overall EU - Russian Federation relationship.
Article 14 
Comparabilité de traitement Dans les accords bilatéraux visés à l'article 13, les États membres font en sorte que les pays tiers accordent aux personnes jouissant du droit communautaire à la libre circulation et aux ressortissants de pays tiers qui résident légalement dans la zone frontalière de l'État membre concerné un traitement au moins comparable à celui qui est accordé aux frontaliers du pays tiers concerné. Article 15 Franchissement facilité de la frontière 1. Les accords bilatéraux visés à l'article 13 peuvent contenir des dispositions facilitant le franchissement de la frontière, en vertu desquelles les États membres: a) créent des points de passage frontaliers spéciaux, réservés aux frontaliers; b) réservent des couloirs spéciaux aux frontaliers aux points de passage frontaliers ordinaires; ou c) compte tenu des circonstances locales et lorsque, à titre exceptionnel, il existe un besoin particulier, autorisent les frontaliers à franchir leur frontière terrestre extérieure en des points définis autres que les points de passage autorisés et en dehors des heures d'ouverture fixées. 2. Lorsqu'un État membre décide de faciliter le franchissement de la frontière pour les frontaliers, conformément au paragraphe 1, il facilite le franchissement de la frontière, de plein droit, pour toute personne jouissant du droit communautaire à la libre circulation, résidant dans la zone frontalière concernée. 3. Aux points de passage visés au paragraphe 1, point a), ainsi qu'aux couloirs spéciaux visés au paragraphe 1, point b), les personnes qui franchissent régulièrement la frontière et qui, pour cette raison, sont connues des gardes-frontières, ne sont généralement soumises qu'à un contrôle par sondage. Ces personnes sont soumises de temps en temps, inopinément et à intervalles irréguliers, à des contrôles approfondis. 4. Lorsqu'un État membre décide de faciliter le franchissement de la frontière par les frontaliers conformément au paragraphe 1, point c): a) le permis de franchissement local de la frontière comporte, outre les informations requises par l'article 7, paragraphe 3, des informations détaillées relatives à la localisation et aux circonstances dans lesquelles le franchissement de la frontière terrestre extérieure est autorisé; b) l'État membre en question procède à des contrôles par sondage et organise une surveillance régulière de manière à empêcher le franchissement non autorisé de la frontière.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL It is in the interest of the enlarged European Union to ensure that the borders with its neighbours are no barriers to trade, social and cultural interchange or regional cooperation with neighbouring countries. Therefore, the Council and the European Parliament adopted in 2006 a Regulation laying down rules on local border traffic at the external land borders of the Member States[1] ("Local Border Traffic Regulation") which allows derogating, for persons living in a border area, from the general rules on border checks set out in the Schengen Borders Code. The Regulation authorises Member States to conclude bilateral agreements with neighbouring non-EU countries, provided these agreements fully comply with the parameters set by the Regulation. In February 2011, the Commission concluded in its second report[2] that the local border traffic regime makes life significantly easier for people living near the external land borders, while at the same time there is little evidence that the regime is being abused. The Commission also stated that given the specific position of Kaliningrad -the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation with a population of almost one million inhabitants became the only enclave within the EU as a consequence of the 2004 EU enlargement- an amendment of the Local Border Traffic Regulation may be justified. Indeed, the Kaliningrad enclave has an exceptional geographic position as a relatively small area which is completely surrounded by two EU Member States; the oblast in its entirety has the character of a border area. There are no other areas within Europe with a similar geographic situation constituting an enclave. In order to avoid Kaliningrad's isolation from its immediate neighbours, there is a need to facilitate travel for its inhabitants. Even though the EU-Russian Federation agreement on visa facilitation in force since 2007 already is a significant step forward to enhance opportunities for mobility, the local border traffic regime offers additional facilitations specifically for regular, even daily, needs for travel within the local area. For examples, applicants will not have to prove sufficient means of subsistence, the permit may be issued free of charge, or separate lanes and/or specific border crossing points could be reserved or set up for local border traffic. Also, all residents of the Kaliningrad area would enjoy these facilitations, whereas some of the facilitations in the EU-Russian Federation visa facilitation agreement apply to certain categories of persons only. In order also to prevent an artificial division of the Kaliningrad oblast, whereby some inhabitants would enjoy facilitations for local border traffic while the majority (including the inhabitants of the city of Kaliningrad) would not, the entire Kaliningrad area should be eligible as a border area in a bilateral agreement between a Member State and the Russian Federation. It should be noted that this eligible border area could not be extended any further. In this context, and for the Regulation to have real effect in that region, a specific border area on the Polish side should be included in the eligible border area as well, in order to facilitate and enhance economic and cultural interchange between the Kaliningrad oblast on the one hand and major centres in the North of Poland on the other. It is underlined that this exceptional extension of the border zone in the Kaliningrad area does not affect the general definition of the eligible border area (the 30/50 km zone). Also, all rules and conditions in the Local Border Traffic Regulation that guarantee the security of the entire Schengen area continue to apply. In particular, the local border traffic permits will continue to have the security features as set out in the Regulation, and local border traffic permits may only be issued to applicants who fulfil all conditions set out in the Regulation. Also, Poland is obliged to ensure that any abuse of the local border traffic regime is subject to effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties, which shall include the possibility of cancelling and revoking local border traffic permits. In this context, the Polish authorities have already committed themselves to launch targeted information campaigns and to mark clearly the local border traffic area. This proposal will contribute to further promoting the strategic partnership between the EU and the Russian Federation, in line with the priorities set out in the Roadmap of the Common Space on Freedom, Security and Justice regarding cross-border cooperation and shall be considered in the context of the overall EU - Russian Federation relationship.
Article 15 
Franchissement facilité de la frontière 1. Les accords bilatéraux visés à l'article 13 peuvent contenir des dispositions facilitant le franchissement de la frontière, en vertu desquelles les États membres: a) créent des points de passage frontaliers spéciaux, réservés aux frontaliers; b) réservent des couloirs spéciaux aux frontaliers aux points de passage frontaliers ordinaires; ou c) compte tenu des circonstances locales et lorsque, à titre exceptionnel, il existe un besoin particulier, autorisent les frontaliers à franchir leur frontière terrestre extérieure en des points définis autres que les points de passage autorisés et en dehors des heures d'ouverture fixées. 2. Lorsqu'un État membre décide de faciliter le franchissement de la frontière pour les frontaliers, conformément au paragraphe 1, il facilite le franchissement de la frontière, de plein droit, pour toute personne jouissant du droit communautaire à la libre circulation, résidant dans la zone frontalière concernée. 3. Aux points de passage visés au paragraphe 1, point a), ainsi qu'aux couloirs spéciaux visés au paragraphe 1, point b), les personnes qui franchissent régulièrement la frontière et qui, pour cette raison, sont connues des gardes-frontières, ne sont généralement soumises qu'à un contrôle par sondage. Ces personnes sont soumises de temps en temps, inopinément et à intervalles irréguliers, à des contrôles approfondis. 4. Lorsqu'un État membre décide de faciliter le franchissement de la frontière par les frontaliers conformément au paragraphe 1, point c): a) le permis de franchissement local de la frontière comporte, outre les informations requises par l'article 7, paragraphe 3, des informations détaillées relatives à la localisation et aux circonstances dans lesquelles le franchissement de la frontière terrestre extérieure est autorisé; b) l'État membre en question procède à des contrôles par sondage et organise une surveillance régulière de manière à empêcher le franchissement non autorisé de la frontière.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL It is in the interest of the enlarged European Union to ensure that the borders with its neighbours are no barriers to trade, social and cultural interchange or regional cooperation with neighbouring countries. Therefore, the Council and the European Parliament adopted in 2006 a Regulation laying down rules on local border traffic at the external land borders of the Member States[1] ("Local Border Traffic Regulation") which allows derogating, for persons living in a border area, from the general rules on border checks set out in the Schengen Borders Code. The Regulation authorises Member States to conclude bilateral agreements with neighbouring non-EU countries, provided these agreements fully comply with the parameters set by the Regulation. In February 2011, the Commission concluded in its second report[2] that the local border traffic regime makes life significantly easier for people living near the external land borders, while at the same time there is little evidence that the regime is being abused. The Commission also stated that given the specific position of Kaliningrad -the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation with a population of almost one million inhabitants became the only enclave within the EU as a consequence of the 2004 EU enlargement- an amendment of the Local Border Traffic Regulation may be justified. Indeed, the Kaliningrad enclave has an exceptional geographic position as a relatively small area which is completely surrounded by two EU Member States; the oblast in its entirety has the character of a border area. There are no other areas within Europe with a similar geographic situation constituting an enclave. In order to avoid Kaliningrad's isolation from its immediate neighbours, there is a need to facilitate travel for its inhabitants. Even though the EU-Russian Federation agreement on visa facilitation in force since 2007 already is a significant step forward to enhance opportunities for mobility, the local border traffic regime offers additional facilitations specifically for regular, even daily, needs for travel within the local area. For examples, applicants will not have to prove sufficient means of subsistence, the permit may be issued free of charge, or separate lanes and/or specific border crossing points could be reserved or set up for local border traffic. Also, all residents of the Kaliningrad area would enjoy these facilitations, whereas some of the facilitations in the EU-Russian Federation visa facilitation agreement apply to certain categories of persons only. In order also to prevent an artificial division of the Kaliningrad oblast, whereby some inhabitants would enjoy facilitations for local border traffic while the majority (including the inhabitants of the city of Kaliningrad) would not, the entire Kaliningrad area should be eligible as a border area in a bilateral agreement between a Member State and the Russian Federation. It should be noted that this eligible border area could not be extended any further. In this context, and for the Regulation to have real effect in that region, a specific border area on the Polish side should be included in the eligible border area as well, in order to facilitate and enhance economic and cultural interchange between the Kaliningrad oblast on the one hand and major centres in the North of Poland on the other. It is underlined that this exceptional extension of the border zone in the Kaliningrad area does not affect the general definition of the eligible border area (the 30/50 km zone). Also, all rules and conditions in the Local Border Traffic Regulation that guarantee the security of the entire Schengen area continue to apply. In particular, the local border traffic permits will continue to have the security features as set out in the Regulation, and local border traffic permits may only be issued to applicants who fulfil all conditions set out in the Regulation. Also, Poland is obliged to ensure that any abuse of the local border traffic regime is subject to effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties, which shall include the possibility of cancelling and revoking local border traffic permits. In this context, the Polish authorities have already committed themselves to launch targeted information campaigns and to mark clearly the local border traffic area. This proposal will contribute to further promoting the strategic partnership between the EU and the Russian Federation, in line with the priorities set out in the Roadmap of the Common Space on Freedom, Security and Justice regarding cross-border cooperation and shall be considered in the context of the overall EU - Russian Federation relationship.
Article 16 
Ceuta et Melilla Les dispositions du présent règlement ne portent pas atteinte aux régimes spécifiques qui s'appliquent aux villes de Ceuta et de Melilla, tels que visés dans la déclaration du Royaume d'Espagne relative aux villes de Ceuta et Melilla figurant dans l'acte final de l'accord d'adhésion du Royaume d'Espagne à la convention d'application de l'accord de Schengen. Article 17 Sanctions 1. Les États membres veillent à appliquer les sanctions prévues par la législation nationale à toute utilisation abusive du régime propre au petit trafic frontalier, institué par le présent règlement et mis en œuvre par les accords bilatéraux visés à l'article 13. 2. Ces sanctions sont efficaces, proportionnées et dissuasives, et incluent la possibilité de supprimer et de révoquer les permis délivrés en vue du franchissement local de la frontière. 3. Les États membres tiennent un registre de tous les cas d'utilisation abusive du régime propre au petit trafic frontalier et des sanctions qui ont été infligées conformément au paragraphe 1. Ces informations sont transmises chaque semestre aux autres États membres et à la Commission. Article 18 Rapport sur le régime propre au petit trafic frontalier Au plus tard le 19 janvier 2009, la Commission présente au Parlement européen et au Conseil un rapport sur la mise en œuvre et le fonctionnement du régime propre au petit trafic frontalier, tel qu'institué par le présent règlement et mis en œuvre par les accords bilatéraux conclus ou maintenus conformément aux règles prévues par le présent règlement. Ce rapport est accompagné, le cas échéant, de propositions législatives appropriées. Article 19 Notification des accords bilatéraux 1. Les États membres notifient à la Commission tous les accords bilatéraux visés à l'article 13, ainsi que toute dénonciation ou modification de ces accords. 2. La Commission rend les informations notifiées conformément au paragraphe 1 accessibles aux États membres et au public par une publication au Journal officiel de l'Union européenne ou par tout autre moyen approprié. Article 20 Modification des dispositions de la convention de Schengen Les dispositions de l'article 136, paragraphe 3, de la convention de Schengen sont remplacées par le texte suivant: "3. Le paragraphe 2 ne s'applique pas aux accords bilatéraux relatifs au petit trafic frontalier qui sont visés à l'article 13 du règlement (CE) no 1931/2006 du Parlement européen et du Conseil du 20 décembre 2006 fixant des règles relatives au petit trafic frontalier aux frontières terrestres extérieures des États membres et modifiant les dispositions de la convention de Schengen []. Article 21 Entrée en vigueur Le présent règlement entre en vigueur le vingtième jour suivant celui de sa publication au Journal officiel de l'Union européenne. Le présent règlement est obligatoire dans tous ses éléments et directement applicable dans tout État membre, conformément aux dispositions du traité instituant la Communauté européenne. Fait à Bruxelles, le 20 décembre 2006. Par le Parlement européen Le président J. Borrell fontelles Par le Conseil J. Korkeaoja [1] Avis du Parlement européen du 14 février 2006 (non encore paru au Journal officiel) et décision du Conseil du 5 octobre 2006. [2] JO L 105 du 13.4.2006, p. 1. [3] JO L 81 du 21.3.2001, p. 1. Règlement modifié en dernier lieu par le règlement (CE) no 851/2005 (JO L 141 du 4.6.2005, p. 3). [4] Voir p. 10 du présent Journal officiel. [5] JO L 239 du 22.9.2000, p. 69. [6] JO L 176 du 10.7.1999, p. 36. [7] JO L 176 du 10.7.1999, p. 31. [8] JO L 131 du 1.6. 2000, p. 43. Décision modifiée par la décision 2004/926/CE (JO L 395 du 31.12.2004, p. 70). [9] JO L 64 du 7.3.2002, p. 20. [10] Décision 2004/849/CE du Conseil du 25 octobre 2004 relative à la signature, au nom de l'Union européenne, et à l'application provisoire de certaines dispositions de l'accord entre l'Union européenne, la Communauté européenne et la Confédération suisse sur l'association de la Confédération suisse à la mise en œuvre, à l'application et au développement de l'acquis de Schengen (JO L 368 du 15.12.2004, p. 26). [11] Décision 2004/860/CE du Conseil du 25 octobre 2004 relative à la signature, au nom de la Communauté européenne, et à l'application provisoire de certaines dispositions de l'accord entre l'Union européenne, la Communauté européenne et la Confédération suisse sur l'association de la Confédération suisse à la mise en œuvre, à l'application et au développement de l'acquis de Schengen (JO L 370 du 17.12.2004, p. 78). [12] Directive 2004/38/CE du Parlement européen et du Conseil du 29 avril 2004 relative au droit des citoyens de l'Union et des membres de leurs familles de circuler et de séjourner librement sur le territoire des États membres (JO L 158 du 30.4.2004, p. 77; version rectifiée au JO L 229 du 29.6.2004, p. 35). [13] JO L 239 du 22.9.2000, p. 19. Convention modifiée en dernier lieu par le règlement (CE) no 1160/2005 du Parlement européen et du Conseil (JO L 191 du 22.7.2005, p. 18). [14] JO L 157 du 15.6.2002, p. 1. [] JO L 405 du 30.12.2006, p. 1; rectifié au JO L 29 du 3.2.2007, p. 3" This site is managed by the Publications Office of the European Union Need help? 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Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL It is in the interest of the enlarged European Union to ensure that the borders with its neighbours are no barriers to trade, social and cultural interchange or regional cooperation with neighbouring countries. Therefore, the Council and the European Parliament adopted in 2006 a Regulation laying down rules on local border traffic at the external land borders of the Member States[1] ("Local Border Traffic Regulation") which allows derogating, for persons living in a border area, from the general rules on border checks set out in the Schengen Borders Code. The Regulation authorises Member States to conclude bilateral agreements with neighbouring non-EU countries, provided these agreements fully comply with the parameters set by the Regulation. In February 2011, the Commission concluded in its second report[2] that the local border traffic regime makes life significantly easier for people living near the external land borders, while at the same time there is little evidence that the regime is being abused. The Commission also stated that given the specific position of Kaliningrad -the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation with a population of almost one million inhabitants became the only enclave within the EU as a consequence of the 2004 EU enlargement- an amendment of the Local Border Traffic Regulation may be justified. Indeed, the Kaliningrad enclave has an exceptional geographic position as a relatively small area which is completely surrounded by two EU Member States; the oblast in its entirety has the character of a border area. There are no other areas within Europe with a similar geographic situation constituting an enclave. In order to avoid Kaliningrad's isolation from its immediate neighbours, there is a need to facilitate travel for its inhabitants. Even though the EU-Russian Federation agreement on visa facilitation in force since 2007 already is a significant step forward to enhance opportunities for mobility, the local border traffic regime offers additional facilitations specifically for regular, even daily, needs for travel within the local area. For examples, applicants will not have to prove sufficient means of subsistence, the permit may be issued free of charge, or separate lanes and/or specific border crossing points could be reserved or set up for local border traffic. Also, all residents of the Kaliningrad area would enjoy these facilitations, whereas some of the facilitations in the EU-Russian Federation visa facilitation agreement apply to certain categories of persons only. In order also to prevent an artificial division of the Kaliningrad oblast, whereby some inhabitants would enjoy facilitations for local border traffic while the majority (including the inhabitants of the city of Kaliningrad) would not, the entire Kaliningrad area should be eligible as a border area in a bilateral agreement between a Member State and the Russian Federation. It should be noted that this eligible border area could not be extended any further. In this context, and for the Regulation to have real effect in that region, a specific border area on the Polish side should be included in the eligible border area as well, in order to facilitate and enhance economic and cultural interchange between the Kaliningrad oblast on the one hand and major centres in the North of Poland on the other. It is underlined that this exceptional extension of the border zone in the Kaliningrad area does not affect the general definition of the eligible border area (the 30/50 km zone). Also, all rules and conditions in the Local Border Traffic Regulation that guarantee the security of the entire Schengen area continue to apply. In particular, the local border traffic permits will continue to have the security features as set out in the Regulation, and local border traffic permits may only be issued to applicants who fulfil all conditions set out in the Regulation. Also, Poland is obliged to ensure that any abuse of the local border traffic regime is subject to effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties, which shall include the possibility of cancelling and revoking local border traffic permits. In this context, the Polish authorities have already committed themselves to launch targeted information campaigns and to mark clearly the local border traffic area. This proposal will contribute to further promoting the strategic partnership between the EU and the Russian Federation, in line with the priorities set out in the Roadmap of the Common Space on Freedom, Security and Justice regarding cross-border cooperation and shall be considered in the context of the overall EU - Russian Federation relationship.
Revised version (Article 16 ):
The provisions of this Regulation shall not affect the specific arrangements applying to the towns of Ceuta and Melilla, as referred to in the Declaration by the Kingdom of Spain on the towns of Ceuta and Melilla in the Final Act to the Agreement on the Accession of the Kingdom of Spain to the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement.
Article 17 
Sanctions 1. Les États membres veillent à appliquer les sanctions prévues par la législation nationale à toute utilisation abusive du régime propre au petit trafic frontalier, institué par le présent règlement et mis en œuvre par les accords bilatéraux visés à l'article 13. 2. Ces sanctions sont efficaces, proportionnées et dissuasives, et incluent la possibilité de supprimer et de révoquer les permis délivrés en vue du franchissement local de la frontière. 3. Les États membres tiennent un registre de tous les cas d'utilisation abusive du régime propre au petit trafic frontalier et des sanctions qui ont été infligées conformément au paragraphe 1. Ces informations sont transmises chaque semestre aux autres États membres et à la Commission. Article 18 Rapport sur le régime propre au petit trafic frontalier Au plus tard le 19 janvier 2009, la Commission présente au Parlement européen et au Conseil un rapport sur la mise en œuvre et le fonctionnement du régime propre au petit trafic frontalier, tel qu'institué par le présent règlement et mis en œuvre par les accords bilatéraux conclus ou maintenus conformément aux règles prévues par le présent règlement. Ce rapport est accompagné, le cas échéant, de propositions législatives appropriées. Article 19 Notification des accords bilatéraux 1. Les États membres notifient à la Commission tous les accords bilatéraux visés à l'article 13, ainsi que toute dénonciation ou modification de ces accords. 2. La Commission rend les informations notifiées conformément au paragraphe 1 accessibles aux États membres et au public par une publication au Journal officiel de l'Union européenne ou par tout autre moyen approprié. Article 20 Modification des dispositions de la convention de Schengen Les dispositions de l'article 136, paragraphe 3, de la convention de Schengen sont remplacées par le texte suivant: "3. Le paragraphe 2 ne s'applique pas aux accords bilatéraux relatifs au petit trafic frontalier qui sont visés à l'article 13 du règlement (CE) no 1931/2006 du Parlement européen et du Conseil du 20 décembre 2006 fixant des règles relatives au petit trafic frontalier aux frontières terrestres extérieures des États membres et modifiant les dispositions de la convention de Schengen []. Article 21 Entrée en vigueur Le présent règlement entre en vigueur le vingtième jour suivant celui de sa publication au Journal officiel de l'Union européenne. Le présent règlement est obligatoire dans tous ses éléments et directement applicable dans tout État membre, conformément aux dispositions du traité instituant la Communauté européenne. Fait à Bruxelles, le 20 décembre 2006. Par le Parlement européen Le président J. Borrell fontelles Par le Conseil J. Korkeaoja [1] Avis du Parlement européen du 14 février 2006 (non encore paru au Journal officiel) et décision du Conseil du 5 octobre 2006. [2] JO L 105 du 13.4.2006, p. 1. [3] JO L 81 du 21.3.2001, p. 1. Règlement modifié en dernier lieu par le règlement (CE) no 851/2005 (JO L 141 du 4.6.2005, p. 3). [4] Voir p. 10 du présent Journal officiel. [5] JO L 239 du 22.9.2000, p. 69. [6] JO L 176 du 10.7.1999, p. 36. [7] JO L 176 du 10.7.1999, p. 31. [8] JO L 131 du 1.6. 2000, p. 43. Décision modifiée par la décision 2004/926/CE (JO L 395 du 31.12.2004, p. 70). [9] JO L 64 du 7.3.2002, p. 20. [10] Décision 2004/849/CE du Conseil du 25 octobre 2004 relative à la signature, au nom de l'Union européenne, et à l'application provisoire de certaines dispositions de l'accord entre l'Union européenne, la Communauté européenne et la Confédération suisse sur l'association de la Confédération suisse à la mise en œuvre, à l'application et au développement de l'acquis de Schengen (JO L 368 du 15.12.2004, p. 26). [11] Décision 2004/860/CE du Conseil du 25 octobre 2004 relative à la signature, au nom de la Communauté européenne, et à l'application provisoire de certaines dispositions de l'accord entre l'Union européenne, la Communauté européenne et la Confédération suisse sur l'association de la Confédération suisse à la mise en œuvre, à l'application et au développement de l'acquis de Schengen (JO L 370 du 17.12.2004, p. 78). [12] Directive 2004/38/CE du Parlement européen et du Conseil du 29 avril 2004 relative au droit des citoyens de l'Union et des membres de leurs familles de circuler et de séjourner librement sur le territoire des États membres (JO L 158 du 30.4.2004, p. 77; version rectifiée au JO L 229 du 29.6.2004, p. 35). [13] JO L 239 du 22.9.2000, p. 19. Convention modifiée en dernier lieu par le règlement (CE) no 1160/2005 du Parlement européen et du Conseil (JO L 191 du 22.7.2005, p. 18). [14] JO L 157 du 15.6.2002, p. 1. [] JO L 405 du 30.12.2006, p. 1; rectifié au JO L 29 du 3.2.2007, p. 3" This site is managed by the Publications Office of the European Union Need help? 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Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL It is in the interest of the enlarged European Union to ensure that the borders with its neighbours are no barriers to trade, social and cultural interchange or regional cooperation with neighbouring countries. Therefore, the Council and the European Parliament adopted in 2006 a Regulation laying down rules on local border traffic at the external land borders of the Member States[1] ("Local Border Traffic Regulation") which allows derogating, for persons living in a border area, from the general rules on border checks set out in the Schengen Borders Code. The Regulation authorises Member States to conclude bilateral agreements with neighbouring non-EU countries, provided these agreements fully comply with the parameters set by the Regulation. In February 2011, the Commission concluded in its second report[2] that the local border traffic regime makes life significantly easier for people living near the external land borders, while at the same time there is little evidence that the regime is being abused. The Commission also stated that given the specific position of Kaliningrad -the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation with a population of almost one million inhabitants became the only enclave within the EU as a consequence of the 2004 EU enlargement- an amendment of the Local Border Traffic Regulation may be justified. Indeed, the Kaliningrad enclave has an exceptional geographic position as a relatively small area which is completely surrounded by two EU Member States; the oblast in its entirety has the character of a border area. There are no other areas within Europe with a similar geographic situation constituting an enclave. In order to avoid Kaliningrad's isolation from its immediate neighbours, there is a need to facilitate travel for its inhabitants. Even though the EU-Russian Federation agreement on visa facilitation in force since 2007 already is a significant step forward to enhance opportunities for mobility, the local border traffic regime offers additional facilitations specifically for regular, even daily, needs for travel within the local area. For examples, applicants will not have to prove sufficient means of subsistence, the permit may be issued free of charge, or separate lanes and/or specific border crossing points could be reserved or set up for local border traffic. Also, all residents of the Kaliningrad area would enjoy these facilitations, whereas some of the facilitations in the EU-Russian Federation visa facilitation agreement apply to certain categories of persons only. In order also to prevent an artificial division of the Kaliningrad oblast, whereby some inhabitants would enjoy facilitations for local border traffic while the majority (including the inhabitants of the city of Kaliningrad) would not, the entire Kaliningrad area should be eligible as a border area in a bilateral agreement between a Member State and the Russian Federation. It should be noted that this eligible border area could not be extended any further. In this context, and for the Regulation to have real effect in that region, a specific border area on the Polish side should be included in the eligible border area as well, in order to facilitate and enhance economic and cultural interchange between the Kaliningrad oblast on the one hand and major centres in the North of Poland on the other. It is underlined that this exceptional extension of the border zone in the Kaliningrad area does not affect the general definition of the eligible border area (the 30/50 km zone). Also, all rules and conditions in the Local Border Traffic Regulation that guarantee the security of the entire Schengen area continue to apply. In particular, the local border traffic permits will continue to have the security features as set out in the Regulation, and local border traffic permits may only be issued to applicants who fulfil all conditions set out in the Regulation. Also, Poland is obliged to ensure that any abuse of the local border traffic regime is subject to effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties, which shall include the possibility of cancelling and revoking local border traffic permits. In this context, the Polish authorities have already committed themselves to launch targeted information campaigns and to mark clearly the local border traffic area. This proposal will contribute to further promoting the strategic partnership between the EU and the Russian Federation, in line with the priorities set out in the Roadmap of the Common Space on Freedom, Security and Justice regarding cross-border cooperation and shall be considered in the context of the overall EU - Russian Federation relationship.
Article 18 
Rapport sur le régime propre au petit trafic frontalier Au plus tard le 19 janvier 2009, la Commission présente au Parlement européen et au Conseil un rapport sur la mise en œuvre et le fonctionnement du régime propre au petit trafic frontalier, tel qu'institué par le présent règlement et mis en œuvre par les accords bilatéraux conclus ou maintenus conformément aux règles prévues par le présent règlement. Ce rapport est accompagné, le cas échéant, de propositions législatives appropriées. Article 19 Notification des accords bilatéraux 1. Les États membres notifient à la Commission tous les accords bilatéraux visés à l'article 13, ainsi que toute dénonciation ou modification de ces accords. 2. La Commission rend les informations notifiées conformément au paragraphe 1 accessibles aux États membres et au public par une publication au Journal officiel de l'Union européenne ou par tout autre moyen approprié. Article 20 Modification des dispositions de la convention de Schengen Les dispositions de l'article 136, paragraphe 3, de la convention de Schengen sont remplacées par le texte suivant: "3. Le paragraphe 2 ne s'applique pas aux accords bilatéraux relatifs au petit trafic frontalier qui sont visés à l'article 13 du règlement (CE) no 1931/2006 du Parlement européen et du Conseil du 20 décembre 2006 fixant des règles relatives au petit trafic frontalier aux frontières terrestres extérieures des États membres et modifiant les dispositions de la convention de Schengen []. Article 21 Entrée en vigueur Le présent règlement entre en vigueur le vingtième jour suivant celui de sa publication au Journal officiel de l'Union européenne. Le présent règlement est obligatoire dans tous ses éléments et directement applicable dans tout État membre, conformément aux dispositions du traité instituant la Communauté européenne. Fait à Bruxelles, le 20 décembre 2006. Par le Parlement européen Le président J. Borrell fontelles Par le Conseil J. Korkeaoja [1] Avis du Parlement européen du 14 février 2006 (non encore paru au Journal officiel) et décision du Conseil du 5 octobre 2006. [2] JO L 105 du 13.4.2006, p. 1. [3] JO L 81 du 21.3.2001, p. 1. Règlement modifié en dernier lieu par le règlement (CE) no 851/2005 (JO L 141 du 4.6.2005, p. 3). [4] Voir p. 10 du présent Journal officiel. [5] JO L 239 du 22.9.2000, p. 69. [6] JO L 176 du 10.7.1999, p. 36. [7] JO L 176 du 10.7.1999, p. 31. [8] JO L 131 du 1.6. 2000, p. 43. Décision modifiée par la décision 2004/926/CE (JO L 395 du 31.12.2004, p. 70). [9] JO L 64 du 7.3.2002, p. 20. [10] Décision 2004/849/CE du Conseil du 25 octobre 2004 relative à la signature, au nom de l'Union européenne, et à l'application provisoire de certaines dispositions de l'accord entre l'Union européenne, la Communauté européenne et la Confédération suisse sur l'association de la Confédération suisse à la mise en œuvre, à l'application et au développement de l'acquis de Schengen (JO L 368 du 15.12.2004, p. 26). [11] Décision 2004/860/CE du Conseil du 25 octobre 2004 relative à la signature, au nom de la Communauté européenne, et à l'application provisoire de certaines dispositions de l'accord entre l'Union européenne, la Communauté européenne et la Confédération suisse sur l'association de la Confédération suisse à la mise en œuvre, à l'application et au développement de l'acquis de Schengen (JO L 370 du 17.12.2004, p. 78). [12] Directive 2004/38/CE du Parlement européen et du Conseil du 29 avril 2004 relative au droit des citoyens de l'Union et des membres de leurs familles de circuler et de séjourner librement sur le territoire des États membres (JO L 158 du 30.4.2004, p. 77; version rectifiée au JO L 229 du 29.6.2004, p. 35). [13] JO L 239 du 22.9.2000, p. 19. Convention modifiée en dernier lieu par le règlement (CE) no 1160/2005 du Parlement européen et du Conseil (JO L 191 du 22.7.2005, p. 18). [14] JO L 157 du 15.6.2002, p. 1. [] JO L 405 du 30.12.2006, p. 1; rectifié au JO L 29 du 3.2.2007, p. 3" This site is managed by the Publications Office of the European Union Need help? 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Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL It is in the interest of the enlarged European Union to ensure that the borders with its neighbours are no barriers to trade, social and cultural interchange or regional cooperation with neighbouring countries. Therefore, the Council and the European Parliament adopted in 2006 a Regulation laying down rules on local border traffic at the external land borders of the Member States[1] ("Local Border Traffic Regulation") which allows derogating, for persons living in a border area, from the general rules on border checks set out in the Schengen Borders Code. The Regulation authorises Member States to conclude bilateral agreements with neighbouring non-EU countries, provided these agreements fully comply with the parameters set by the Regulation. In February 2011, the Commission concluded in its second report[2] that the local border traffic regime makes life significantly easier for people living near the external land borders, while at the same time there is little evidence that the regime is being abused. The Commission also stated that given the specific position of Kaliningrad -the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation with a population of almost one million inhabitants became the only enclave within the EU as a consequence of the 2004 EU enlargement- an amendment of the Local Border Traffic Regulation may be justified. Indeed, the Kaliningrad enclave has an exceptional geographic position as a relatively small area which is completely surrounded by two EU Member States; the oblast in its entirety has the character of a border area. There are no other areas within Europe with a similar geographic situation constituting an enclave. In order to avoid Kaliningrad's isolation from its immediate neighbours, there is a need to facilitate travel for its inhabitants. Even though the EU-Russian Federation agreement on visa facilitation in force since 2007 already is a significant step forward to enhance opportunities for mobility, the local border traffic regime offers additional facilitations specifically for regular, even daily, needs for travel within the local area. For examples, applicants will not have to prove sufficient means of subsistence, the permit may be issued free of charge, or separate lanes and/or specific border crossing points could be reserved or set up for local border traffic. Also, all residents of the Kaliningrad area would enjoy these facilitations, whereas some of the facilitations in the EU-Russian Federation visa facilitation agreement apply to certain categories of persons only. In order also to prevent an artificial division of the Kaliningrad oblast, whereby some inhabitants would enjoy facilitations for local border traffic while the majority (including the inhabitants of the city of Kaliningrad) would not, the entire Kaliningrad area should be eligible as a border area in a bilateral agreement between a Member State and the Russian Federation. It should be noted that this eligible border area could not be extended any further. In this context, and for the Regulation to have real effect in that region, a specific border area on the Polish side should be included in the eligible border area as well, in order to facilitate and enhance economic and cultural interchange between the Kaliningrad oblast on the one hand and major centres in the North of Poland on the other. It is underlined that this exceptional extension of the border zone in the Kaliningrad area does not affect the general definition of the eligible border area (the 30/50 km zone). Also, all rules and conditions in the Local Border Traffic Regulation that guarantee the security of the entire Schengen area continue to apply. In particular, the local border traffic permits will continue to have the security features as set out in the Regulation, and local border traffic permits may only be issued to applicants who fulfil all conditions set out in the Regulation. Also, Poland is obliged to ensure that any abuse of the local border traffic regime is subject to effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties, which shall include the possibility of cancelling and revoking local border traffic permits. In this context, the Polish authorities have already committed themselves to launch targeted information campaigns and to mark clearly the local border traffic area. This proposal will contribute to further promoting the strategic partnership between the EU and the Russian Federation, in line with the priorities set out in the Roadmap of the Common Space on Freedom, Security and Justice regarding cross-border cooperation and shall be considered in the context of the overall EU - Russian Federation relationship.
Article 19 
Notification des accords bilatéraux 1. Les États membres notifient à la Commission tous les accords bilatéraux visés à l'article 13, ainsi que toute dénonciation ou modification de ces accords. 2. La Commission rend les informations notifiées conformément au paragraphe 1 accessibles aux États membres et au public par une publication au Journal officiel de l'Union européenne ou par tout autre moyen approprié. Article 20 Modification des dispositions de la convention de Schengen Les dispositions de l'article 136, paragraphe 3, de la convention de Schengen sont remplacées par le texte suivant: "3. Le paragraphe 2 ne s'applique pas aux accords bilatéraux relatifs au petit trafic frontalier qui sont visés à l'article 13 du règlement (CE) no 1931/2006 du Parlement européen et du Conseil du 20 décembre 2006 fixant des règles relatives au petit trafic frontalier aux frontières terrestres extérieures des États membres et modifiant les dispositions de la convention de Schengen []. Article 21 Entrée en vigueur Le présent règlement entre en vigueur le vingtième jour suivant celui de sa publication au Journal officiel de l'Union européenne. Le présent règlement est obligatoire dans tous ses éléments et directement applicable dans tout État membre, conformément aux dispositions du traité instituant la Communauté européenne. Fait à Bruxelles, le 20 décembre 2006. Par le Parlement européen Le président J. Borrell fontelles Par le Conseil J. Korkeaoja [1] Avis du Parlement européen du 14 février 2006 (non encore paru au Journal officiel) et décision du Conseil du 5 octobre 2006. [2] JO L 105 du 13.4.2006, p. 1. [3] JO L 81 du 21.3.2001, p. 1. Règlement modifié en dernier lieu par le règlement (CE) no 851/2005 (JO L 141 du 4.6.2005, p. 3). [4] Voir p. 10 du présent Journal officiel. [5] JO L 239 du 22.9.2000, p. 69. [6] JO L 176 du 10.7.1999, p. 36. [7] JO L 176 du 10.7.1999, p. 31. [8] JO L 131 du 1.6. 2000, p. 43. Décision modifiée par la décision 2004/926/CE (JO L 395 du 31.12.2004, p. 70). [9] JO L 64 du 7.3.2002, p. 20. [10] Décision 2004/849/CE du Conseil du 25 octobre 2004 relative à la signature, au nom de l'Union européenne, et à l'application provisoire de certaines dispositions de l'accord entre l'Union européenne, la Communauté européenne et la Confédération suisse sur l'association de la Confédération suisse à la mise en œuvre, à l'application et au développement de l'acquis de Schengen (JO L 368 du 15.12.2004, p. 26). [11] Décision 2004/860/CE du Conseil du 25 octobre 2004 relative à la signature, au nom de la Communauté européenne, et à l'application provisoire de certaines dispositions de l'accord entre l'Union européenne, la Communauté européenne et la Confédération suisse sur l'association de la Confédération suisse à la mise en œuvre, à l'application et au développement de l'acquis de Schengen (JO L 370 du 17.12.2004, p. 78). [12] Directive 2004/38/CE du Parlement européen et du Conseil du 29 avril 2004 relative au droit des citoyens de l'Union et des membres de leurs familles de circuler et de séjourner librement sur le territoire des États membres (JO L 158 du 30.4.2004, p. 77; version rectifiée au JO L 229 du 29.6.2004, p. 35). [13] JO L 239 du 22.9.2000, p. 19. Convention modifiée en dernier lieu par le règlement (CE) no 1160/2005 du Parlement européen et du Conseil (JO L 191 du 22.7.2005, p. 18). [14] JO L 157 du 15.6.2002, p. 1. [] JO L 405 du 30.12.2006, p. 1; rectifié au JO L 29 du 3.2.2007, p. 3" This site is managed by the Publications Office of the European Union Need help? 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Help pages Contact Sitemap Help pages Contact Sitemap Help pages Contact Sitemap Follow us X Legal Legal notice Cookies policy Accessibility Privacy statement Legal notice Cookies policy Accessibility Privacy statement Legal notice Cookies policy Accessibility Privacy statement Information About EUR-Lex Newsletter Useful links Other services European Data EU tenders EU research results EU Whoiswho EU publications N-Lex EU Law in Force EU Law Tracker Information About EUR-Lex Newsletter Useful links About EUR-Lex Newsletter Useful links About EUR-Lex Newsletter Useful links Other services European Data EU tenders EU research results EU Whoiswho EU publications European Data EU tenders EU research results EU Whoiswho EU publications European Data EU tenders EU research results EU Whoiswho EU publications N-Lex EU Law in Force EU Law Tracker N-Lex EU Law in Force EU Law Tracker Discover more on europa.eu Contact the EU Call us 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 Use other telephone options Write to us via our contact form Meet us at one of the EU centres Social media Search for EU social media channels Legal Languages on our websites Privacy policy Legal notice Cookies EU institutions European Parliament European Council Council of the European Union European Commission Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) European Central Bank (ECB) European Court of Auditors European External Action Service (EEAS) European Economic and Social Committee European Committee of Regions (CoR) European Investment Bank European Ombudsman European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) European Data Protection Board European Personnel Selection Office Publications Office of the European Union Agencies Discover more on europa.eu Contact the EU Call us 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 Use other telephone options Write to us via our contact form Meet us at one of the EU centres Social media Search for EU social media channels Legal Languages on our websites Privacy policy Legal notice Cookies Contact the EU Call us 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 Use other telephone options Write to us via our contact form Meet us at one of the EU centres Call us 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 Use other telephone options Write to us via our contact form Meet us at one of the EU centres Call us 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 Use other telephone options Write to us via our contact form Meet us at one of the EU centres Social media Search for EU social media channels Search for EU social media channels Legal Languages on our websites Privacy policy Legal notice Cookies Languages on our websites Privacy policy Legal notice Cookies Languages on our websites Privacy policy Legal notice Cookies EU institutions European Parliament European Council Council of the European Union European Commission Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) European Central Bank (ECB) European Court of Auditors European External Action Service (EEAS) European Economic and Social Committee European Committee of Regions (CoR) European Investment Bank European Ombudsman European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) European Data Protection Board European Personnel Selection Office Publications Office of the European Union Agencies European Parliament European Council Council of the European Union European Commission Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) European Central Bank (ECB) European Court of Auditors European External Action Service (EEAS) European Economic and Social Committee European Committee of Regions (CoR) European Investment Bank European Ombudsman European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) European Data Protection Board European Personnel Selection Office Publications Office of the European Union Agencies European Parliament European Council Council of the European Union European Commission Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) European Central Bank (ECB) European Court of Auditors European External Action Service (EEAS) European Economic and Social Committee European Committee of Regions (CoR) European Investment Bank European Ombudsman European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) European Data Protection Board European Personnel Selection Office Publications Office of the European Union Agencies Switch to mobile Switch to desktop Switch to mobile Switch to desktop
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL It is in the interest of the enlarged European Union to ensure that the borders with its neighbours are no barriers to trade, social and cultural interchange or regional cooperation with neighbouring countries. Therefore, the Council and the European Parliament adopted in 2006 a Regulation laying down rules on local border traffic at the external land borders of the Member States[1] ("Local Border Traffic Regulation") which allows derogating, for persons living in a border area, from the general rules on border checks set out in the Schengen Borders Code. The Regulation authorises Member States to conclude bilateral agreements with neighbouring non-EU countries, provided these agreements fully comply with the parameters set by the Regulation. In February 2011, the Commission concluded in its second report[2] that the local border traffic regime makes life significantly easier for people living near the external land borders, while at the same time there is little evidence that the regime is being abused. The Commission also stated that given the specific position of Kaliningrad -the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation with a population of almost one million inhabitants became the only enclave within the EU as a consequence of the 2004 EU enlargement- an amendment of the Local Border Traffic Regulation may be justified. Indeed, the Kaliningrad enclave has an exceptional geographic position as a relatively small area which is completely surrounded by two EU Member States; the oblast in its entirety has the character of a border area. There are no other areas within Europe with a similar geographic situation constituting an enclave. In order to avoid Kaliningrad's isolation from its immediate neighbours, there is a need to facilitate travel for its inhabitants. Even though the EU-Russian Federation agreement on visa facilitation in force since 2007 already is a significant step forward to enhance opportunities for mobility, the local border traffic regime offers additional facilitations specifically for regular, even daily, needs for travel within the local area. For examples, applicants will not have to prove sufficient means of subsistence, the permit may be issued free of charge, or separate lanes and/or specific border crossing points could be reserved or set up for local border traffic. Also, all residents of the Kaliningrad area would enjoy these facilitations, whereas some of the facilitations in the EU-Russian Federation visa facilitation agreement apply to certain categories of persons only. In order also to prevent an artificial division of the Kaliningrad oblast, whereby some inhabitants would enjoy facilitations for local border traffic while the majority (including the inhabitants of the city of Kaliningrad) would not, the entire Kaliningrad area should be eligible as a border area in a bilateral agreement between a Member State and the Russian Federation. It should be noted that this eligible border area could not be extended any further. In this context, and for the Regulation to have real effect in that region, a specific border area on the Polish side should be included in the eligible border area as well, in order to facilitate and enhance economic and cultural interchange between the Kaliningrad oblast on the one hand and major centres in the North of Poland on the other. It is underlined that this exceptional extension of the border zone in the Kaliningrad area does not affect the general definition of the eligible border area (the 30/50 km zone). Also, all rules and conditions in the Local Border Traffic Regulation that guarantee the security of the entire Schengen area continue to apply. In particular, the local border traffic permits will continue to have the security features as set out in the Regulation, and local border traffic permits may only be issued to applicants who fulfil all conditions set out in the Regulation. Also, Poland is obliged to ensure that any abuse of the local border traffic regime is subject to effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties, which shall include the possibility of cancelling and revoking local border traffic permits. In this context, the Polish authorities have already committed themselves to launch targeted information campaigns and to mark clearly the local border traffic area. This proposal will contribute to further promoting the strategic partnership between the EU and the Russian Federation, in line with the priorities set out in the Roadmap of the Common Space on Freedom, Security and Justice regarding cross-border cooperation and shall be considered in the context of the overall EU - Russian Federation relationship.
Article 20 
Modification des dispositions de la convention de Schengen Les dispositions de l'article 136, paragraphe 3, de la convention de Schengen sont remplacées par le texte suivant: "3. Le paragraphe 2 ne s'applique pas aux accords bilatéraux relatifs au petit trafic frontalier qui sont visés à l'article 13 du règlement (CE) no 1931/2006 du Parlement européen et du Conseil du 20 décembre 2006 fixant des règles relatives au petit trafic frontalier aux frontières terrestres extérieures des États membres et modifiant les dispositions de la convention de Schengen []. Article 21 Entrée en vigueur Le présent règlement entre en vigueur le vingtième jour suivant celui de sa publication au Journal officiel de l'Union européenne. Le présent règlement est obligatoire dans tous ses éléments et directement applicable dans tout État membre, conformément aux dispositions du traité instituant la Communauté européenne. Fait à Bruxelles, le 20 décembre 2006. Par le Parlement européen Le président J. Borrell fontelles Par le Conseil J. Korkeaoja [1] Avis du Parlement européen du 14 février 2006 (non encore paru au Journal officiel) et décision du Conseil du 5 octobre 2006. [2] JO L 105 du 13.4.2006, p. 1. [3] JO L 81 du 21.3.2001, p. 1. Règlement modifié en dernier lieu par le règlement (CE) no 851/2005 (JO L 141 du 4.6.2005, p. 3). [4] Voir p. 10 du présent Journal officiel. [5] JO L 239 du 22.9.2000, p. 69. [6] JO L 176 du 10.7.1999, p. 36. [7] JO L 176 du 10.7.1999, p. 31. [8] JO L 131 du 1.6. 2000, p. 43. Décision modifiée par la décision 2004/926/CE (JO L 395 du 31.12.2004, p. 70). [9] JO L 64 du 7.3.2002, p. 20. [10] Décision 2004/849/CE du Conseil du 25 octobre 2004 relative à la signature, au nom de l'Union européenne, et à l'application provisoire de certaines dispositions de l'accord entre l'Union européenne, la Communauté européenne et la Confédération suisse sur l'association de la Confédération suisse à la mise en œuvre, à l'application et au développement de l'acquis de Schengen (JO L 368 du 15.12.2004, p. 26). [11] Décision 2004/860/CE du Conseil du 25 octobre 2004 relative à la signature, au nom de la Communauté européenne, et à l'application provisoire de certaines dispositions de l'accord entre l'Union européenne, la Communauté européenne et la Confédération suisse sur l'association de la Confédération suisse à la mise en œuvre, à l'application et au développement de l'acquis de Schengen (JO L 370 du 17.12.2004, p. 78). [12] Directive 2004/38/CE du Parlement européen et du Conseil du 29 avril 2004 relative au droit des citoyens de l'Union et des membres de leurs familles de circuler et de séjourner librement sur le territoire des États membres (JO L 158 du 30.4.2004, p. 77; version rectifiée au JO L 229 du 29.6.2004, p. 35). [13] JO L 239 du 22.9.2000, p. 19. Convention modifiée en dernier lieu par le règlement (CE) no 1160/2005 du Parlement européen et du Conseil (JO L 191 du 22.7.2005, p. 18). [14] JO L 157 du 15.6.2002, p. 1. [] JO L 405 du 30.12.2006, p. 1; rectifié au JO L 29 du 3.2.2007, p. 3" This site is managed by the Publications Office of the European Union Need help? 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Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL It is in the interest of the enlarged European Union to ensure that the borders with its neighbours are no barriers to trade, social and cultural interchange or regional cooperation with neighbouring countries. Therefore, the Council and the European Parliament adopted in 2006 a Regulation laying down rules on local border traffic at the external land borders of the Member States[1] ("Local Border Traffic Regulation") which allows derogating, for persons living in a border area, from the general rules on border checks set out in the Schengen Borders Code. The Regulation authorises Member States to conclude bilateral agreements with neighbouring non-EU countries, provided these agreements fully comply with the parameters set by the Regulation. In February 2011, the Commission concluded in its second report[2] that the local border traffic regime makes life significantly easier for people living near the external land borders, while at the same time there is little evidence that the regime is being abused. The Commission also stated that given the specific position of Kaliningrad -the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation with a population of almost one million inhabitants became the only enclave within the EU as a consequence of the 2004 EU enlargement- an amendment of the Local Border Traffic Regulation may be justified. Indeed, the Kaliningrad enclave has an exceptional geographic position as a relatively small area which is completely surrounded by two EU Member States; the oblast in its entirety has the character of a border area. There are no other areas within Europe with a similar geographic situation constituting an enclave. In order to avoid Kaliningrad's isolation from its immediate neighbours, there is a need to facilitate travel for its inhabitants. Even though the EU-Russian Federation agreement on visa facilitation in force since 2007 already is a significant step forward to enhance opportunities for mobility, the local border traffic regime offers additional facilitations specifically for regular, even daily, needs for travel within the local area. For examples, applicants will not have to prove sufficient means of subsistence, the permit may be issued free of charge, or separate lanes and/or specific border crossing points could be reserved or set up for local border traffic. Also, all residents of the Kaliningrad area would enjoy these facilitations, whereas some of the facilitations in the EU-Russian Federation visa facilitation agreement apply to certain categories of persons only. In order also to prevent an artificial division of the Kaliningrad oblast, whereby some inhabitants would enjoy facilitations for local border traffic while the majority (including the inhabitants of the city of Kaliningrad) would not, the entire Kaliningrad area should be eligible as a border area in a bilateral agreement between a Member State and the Russian Federation. It should be noted that this eligible border area could not be extended any further. In this context, and for the Regulation to have real effect in that region, a specific border area on the Polish side should be included in the eligible border area as well, in order to facilitate and enhance economic and cultural interchange between the Kaliningrad oblast on the one hand and major centres in the North of Poland on the other. It is underlined that this exceptional extension of the border zone in the Kaliningrad area does not affect the general definition of the eligible border area (the 30/50 km zone). Also, all rules and conditions in the Local Border Traffic Regulation that guarantee the security of the entire Schengen area continue to apply. In particular, the local border traffic permits will continue to have the security features as set out in the Regulation, and local border traffic permits may only be issued to applicants who fulfil all conditions set out in the Regulation. Also, Poland is obliged to ensure that any abuse of the local border traffic regime is subject to effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties, which shall include the possibility of cancelling and revoking local border traffic permits. In this context, the Polish authorities have already committed themselves to launch targeted information campaigns and to mark clearly the local border traffic area. This proposal will contribute to further promoting the strategic partnership between the EU and the Russian Federation, in line with the priorities set out in the Roadmap of the Common Space on Freedom, Security and Justice regarding cross-border cooperation and shall be considered in the context of the overall EU - Russian Federation relationship.
Article 21 
Entrée en vigueur Le présent règlement entre en vigueur le vingtième jour suivant celui de sa publication au Journal officiel de l'Union européenne. Le présent règlement est obligatoire dans tous ses éléments et directement applicable dans tout État membre, conformément aux dispositions du traité instituant la Communauté européenne. Fait à Bruxelles, le 20 décembre 2006. Par le Parlement européen Le président J. Borrell fontelles Par le Conseil J. Korkeaoja [1] Avis du Parlement européen du 14 février 2006 (non encore paru au Journal officiel) et décision du Conseil du 5 octobre 2006. [2] JO L 105 du 13.4.2006, p. 1. [3] JO L 81 du 21.3.2001, p. 1. Règlement modifié en dernier lieu par le règlement (CE) no 851/2005 (JO L 141 du 4.6.2005, p. 3). [4] Voir p. 10 du présent Journal officiel. [5] JO L 239 du 22.9.2000, p. 69. [6] JO L 176 du 10.7.1999, p. 36. [7] JO L 176 du 10.7.1999, p. 31. [8] JO L 131 du 1.6. 2000, p. 43. Décision modifiée par la décision 2004/926/CE (JO L 395 du 31.12.2004, p. 70). [9] JO L 64 du 7.3.2002, p. 20. [10] Décision 2004/849/CE du Conseil du 25 octobre 2004 relative à la signature, au nom de l'Union européenne, et à l'application provisoire de certaines dispositions de l'accord entre l'Union européenne, la Communauté européenne et la Confédération suisse sur l'association de la Confédération suisse à la mise en œuvre, à l'application et au développement de l'acquis de Schengen (JO L 368 du 15.12.2004, p. 26). [11] Décision 2004/860/CE du Conseil du 25 octobre 2004 relative à la signature, au nom de la Communauté européenne, et à l'application provisoire de certaines dispositions de l'accord entre l'Union européenne, la Communauté européenne et la Confédération suisse sur l'association de la Confédération suisse à la mise en œuvre, à l'application et au développement de l'acquis de Schengen (JO L 370 du 17.12.2004, p. 78). [12] Directive 2004/38/CE du Parlement européen et du Conseil du 29 avril 2004 relative au droit des citoyens de l'Union et des membres de leurs familles de circuler et de séjourner librement sur le territoire des États membres (JO L 158 du 30.4.2004, p. 77; version rectifiée au JO L 229 du 29.6.2004, p. 35). [13] JO L 239 du 22.9.2000, p. 19. Convention modifiée en dernier lieu par le règlement (CE) no 1160/2005 du Parlement européen et du Conseil (JO L 191 du 22.7.2005, p. 18). [14] JO L 157 du 15.6.2002, p. 1. [] JO L 405 du 30.12.2006, p. 1; rectifié au JO L 29 du 3.2.2007, p. 3" This site is managed by the Publications Office of the European Union Need help? 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Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL It is in the interest of the enlarged European Union to ensure that the borders with its neighbours are no barriers to trade, social and cultural interchange or regional cooperation with neighbouring countries. Therefore, the Council and the European Parliament adopted in 2006 a Regulation laying down rules on local border traffic at the external land borders of the Member States[1] ("Local Border Traffic Regulation") which allows derogating, for persons living in a border area, from the general rules on border checks set out in the Schengen Borders Code. The Regulation authorises Member States to conclude bilateral agreements with neighbouring non-EU countries, provided these agreements fully comply with the parameters set by the Regulation. In February 2011, the Commission concluded in its second report[2] that the local border traffic regime makes life significantly easier for people living near the external land borders, while at the same time there is little evidence that the regime is being abused. The Commission also stated that given the specific position of Kaliningrad -the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation with a population of almost one million inhabitants became the only enclave within the EU as a consequence of the 2004 EU enlargement- an amendment of the Local Border Traffic Regulation may be justified. Indeed, the Kaliningrad enclave has an exceptional geographic position as a relatively small area which is completely surrounded by two EU Member States; the oblast in its entirety has the character of a border area. There are no other areas within Europe with a similar geographic situation constituting an enclave. In order to avoid Kaliningrad's isolation from its immediate neighbours, there is a need to facilitate travel for its inhabitants. Even though the EU-Russian Federation agreement on visa facilitation in force since 2007 already is a significant step forward to enhance opportunities for mobility, the local border traffic regime offers additional facilitations specifically for regular, even daily, needs for travel within the local area. For examples, applicants will not have to prove sufficient means of subsistence, the permit may be issued free of charge, or separate lanes and/or specific border crossing points could be reserved or set up for local border traffic. Also, all residents of the Kaliningrad area would enjoy these facilitations, whereas some of the facilitations in the EU-Russian Federation visa facilitation agreement apply to certain categories of persons only. In order also to prevent an artificial division of the Kaliningrad oblast, whereby some inhabitants would enjoy facilitations for local border traffic while the majority (including the inhabitants of the city of Kaliningrad) would not, the entire Kaliningrad area should be eligible as a border area in a bilateral agreement between a Member State and the Russian Federation. It should be noted that this eligible border area could not be extended any further. In this context, and for the Regulation to have real effect in that region, a specific border area on the Polish side should be included in the eligible border area as well, in order to facilitate and enhance economic and cultural interchange between the Kaliningrad oblast on the one hand and major centres in the North of Poland on the other. It is underlined that this exceptional extension of the border zone in the Kaliningrad area does not affect the general definition of the eligible border area (the 30/50 km zone). Also, all rules and conditions in the Local Border Traffic Regulation that guarantee the security of the entire Schengen area continue to apply. In particular, the local border traffic permits will continue to have the security features as set out in the Regulation, and local border traffic permits may only be issued to applicants who fulfil all conditions set out in the Regulation. Also, Poland is obliged to ensure that any abuse of the local border traffic regime is subject to effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties, which shall include the possibility of cancelling and revoking local border traffic permits. In this context, the Polish authorities have already committed themselves to launch targeted information campaigns and to mark clearly the local border traffic area. This proposal will contribute to further promoting the strategic partnership between the EU and the Russian Federation, in line with the priorities set out in the Roadmap of the Common Space on Freedom, Security and Justice regarding cross-border cooperation and shall be considered in the context of the overall EU - Russian Federation relationship.