The European Commission Friday said it has adopted a report assessing the situation of non-reciprocity with certain third countries in the area of visa policy.
Visa non-reciprocity refers to cases where citizens of a non-EU country enjoy visa-free travel to the EU, yet this country requires EU citizens of certain EU Member States to obtain visas for travel to its territory.
This is the first report since the entry into force of the revised EU visa reciprocity mechanism in January 2014. Not all third countries' nationals must have a visa in order to travel to the Schengen area for a short stay.
The EU has a common list of countries whose citizens must have a visa, called "the negative list," and of countries whose citizens are exempt from that requirement called "the positive list." It is therefore logical that, in the spirit of solidarity, the EU also seeks that third countries on the "positive list" grant a visa waiver to citizens of all EU Member States, said the EU's executive body in a statement.
The report warns that if the third country has not lifted the visa requirement within 24 months of the publication date of the visa case, the Commission shall temporary suspend the visa waiver for 12 months for citizens of that third country.
The Commission said it has received notifications of non-reciprocity situations from five EU Member States: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Poland and Romania. These notifications related to five third countries: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Japan and the US.