EU Visa Code and Visa Handbook

Every year, millions of third country nationals come into contact with consular representations of the Schengen states in order to visit one or more of the 25 countries of common travel area. Some 10.4 million visas were issued in 2008.

In addition to the applicants (incoming travelers), the EU (Community) Visa Code affects friends, relatives and businesses in the Schengen states.


Officially it is called the Community Code on Visas, but with the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon the European Community melted into the European Union (EU). Thus, we speak about the EU Visa Code, when we refer to:





REGULATION (EC) No 810/2009 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 13 July 2009 establishing a Community Code on Visas (Visa Code); published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) 15.9.2009 L 243/1.


Visa Handbook 2010


Operational instructions on the practical application of the provisions of the Regulation 810/2009 have been drawn up in view of ensuring a harmonised implementation of these provisions.

Only the Bulgarian, Czech, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish and Swedish texts are authentic. [Not Danish, English or Irish.]

Ironically, at this time I was able to locate the fresh Visa Handbook only in English and two other working languages of the European Commission:




COMMISSION DECISION of 19.3.2010 establishing the Handbook for the processing of visa applications and the modification of issued visas; C(2010) 1620 final



DÉCISION DE LA COMMISSION du 19.3.2010 établissant le Manuel relatif au traitement des demandes de visa et à la modification des visas; C(1620) final



BESCHLUSS DER KOMMISSION vom 19.03.2010 über ein Handbuch für die Bearbeitung von Visumanträgen und die Änderung von bereits erteilten Visa; K(2010) 1620 endgültig


Perhaps the consular staffs and the public can expect to find the missing language versions published in the OJEU one of these days.




Ralf Grahn

European Union: Council meetings (IV) Indicative provisional agendas

In the context of Article 204 TEC (Article 237 TFEU) and based on the programming, the Council’s Rules of Procedure foresee the establishment of indicative provisional agendas by the incoming Council Presidency for the next six months.


Article 2(5)


5. The incoming Presidency shall establish indicative provisional agendas for Council meetings scheduled for the next six-month period, showing the legislative work and operational decisions envisaged. These indicative provisional agendas shall be established at the latest one week before the beginning of its term of office, on the basis of the Council's 18-month programme and after consulting the Commission. Where necessary, extra Council meetings may be provided for, in addition to those previously planned.

Similar indicative provisional agendas for Council meetings scheduled for the six-month period following that referred to in the first subparagraph shall be established by the Presidency concerned, after consulting the Commission and the next Presidency, at the latest one week before the beginning of its term of office.

If during a six-month period any of the meetings planned during that period proves to be no longer warranted, the Presidency shall not convene it.


***

Although the Council’s Rules of Procedure offer possibilities for exceptional circumstances and emergencies, we can see that the backbone is fairly rigid. The main themes are usually known well in advance.

In practice, different Council formations (configurations) often meet on almost the exact days of their meetings during the preceding year.

Various committees, Coreper and governments’ internal coordination, as well as parliamentary scrutiny, work within an established framework with general timetables known well in advance.

But the agenda becomes more precise closer to the meeting.


Ralf Grahn