The paper aims to present the evolution and the main elements of the EU visa policy hand-in-hand with the creation and development of the EU area of justice, security and freedom. It outlines the main challenges in the process of visa policy harmonization and proceeds with the discussion of the visa policy implications for EU relations with the third countries and the progress in bilateral dialogue on migration issues.
Valeriya Shamray | Open Society Institute, Budapest
EU visa policy has emerged in response to the integration of the EU Member States and ensuring the functioning of the EU internal market, one of the core principles of which is the freedom of movement of persons (Commission of the European Communities 1985, 9). The ambitious goal enshrined into the Amsterdam Treaty to develop the Union as the area of freedom, security and justice which “includes the right to move freely throughout the Union that can be enjoyed in conditions of security and justice accessible to all” (European Council 1999, n/p) required from the EU to develop the effective common instruments for controlling its external borders, fighting illegal migration and organized crime. EU visa policy has become one of such instruments that for the years to come contributed to the ensuring of the Union’s internal security and became an important element of the EU foreign policy. The paper analyzes the main stages of the evolution and harmonization of the EU visa policy. It continues with the discussion of the main elements of the current EU visa policy and their implications for the relations with the third countries. Finally, it presents the current EU bilateral engagement with the third countries aimed at developing alternative solutions for the preservation of its internal security.
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Note
This paper falls within EU4SEAS "The EU and sub-regional multilateralism in Europe’s four sea basins: Neighbourhood, Enlargement and Multilateral Cooperation" research project funded by the European Unions’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under Grant Agreement no.225382 (visit www.eu4seas.eu for further information).
