On Tuesday 19 June, the national ambassadors to the EU (Coreper) approved their mandate on the reform of the visa code that was proposed by the European Commission in March (see EUROPE 11981).
Based on this mandate, the Council Presidency will start negotiations with the European Parliament once the Parliament has adopted its position.
The updated regulation will modernise the European Union's policy on visas, will enable security to be improved, and the tools available for responding to the challenges of migration to be stepped up. The updated regulation will also offer quicker and clearer procedures to legitimate travellers, such as: - allowing requests to be sent up to six months in advance, and at the latest 15 days before, the journey; - allowing the request form to be filled out and signed electronically; - defining more clearly which member state is competent to examine a request when the planned journey covers several member states.
The reform also provides for a harmonised approach for the issue of multiple entry visas to regular travellers with a positive visa history for a period progressively increasing from one to five years.
The costs of the visa will be €80 under this reform. The regulation also introduces an assessment mechanism every three years out of the need to review the amount of this tax.
In addition, the draft regulation also aims to help improve cooperation with third countries on the readmission of migrants who are not able to claim international protection.
In particular, it introduces a new mechanism for using the European visa policy as a lever to obtain progress on readmission. The mechanism will be used when a third country does not cooperate with the member states in this area.
If a third country does not cooperate, the Commission will be able to propose that the EU Council adopt a decision on applying specific restrictive measures concerning the treatment of visas and the visa costs. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)