Visa Information System (VIS) and the exchange of data between Member States on short stay-visas

When progressively establishing an area of freedom, security and justice, the European Union shall ensure the free movement of persons and a high level of security. In this context, top priority has been given to the development and establishment of the Visa Information System (VIS) as a system for the exchange of visa data between Member States, which represents one of the key initiatives within the EU policies aimed at supporting stability and security.

Building upon the Conclusions of the European Council of Laeken, Seville and Thessalonica, the JHA Council adopted on 19 February 2004 conclusions on the development of the Visa Information System [1]. Reaffirmed by the European Council of Brussels on 25-56 March 2004 [2], these Council conclusions give orientation for the development of the VIS to be taken «into account when preparing the technical implementation of the VIS and the proposal for the legal instrument concerning the establishment of the VIS, while fully respecting the Communities’ legislation on the protection of personal data» [3].

Prior to this proposal, the Council adopted on 8 June 2004 Council Decision 2004/512/EC establishing the Visa Information System (VIS) [4], which constitutes the required legal basis to allow for the inclusion in the budget of the European Communities of the necessary appropriations for the development of VIS and the execution of that part of the budget, defines the architecture of the VIS and gives the Commission the mandate to develop the VIS at technical level, assisted by the SIS II committee [5], whereas the national systems shall be adapted and/or developed by the Member States.

The further development and establishment of the VIS requires the elaboration of a comprehensive legal framework. The objective of the present proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council is to define the purpose, the functionalities and responsibilities for the VIS, to give to the Commission the mandate to set up and maintain the VIS and to establish the procedures and conditions for the exchange of data between Member States on short-stay visa applications to facilitate the examination of such applications and the related decisions.

The VIS shall improve the administration of the common visa policy, the consular cooperation and the consultation between central consular authorities in order to prevent threats to internal security and ‘visa shopping’, to facilitate the fight against fraud and checks at external border checkpoints and within the territory of the Member States, to assist in the identification and return of illegal immigrants and to facilitate the application of the «Dublin II Regulation» (EC) No 343/2003 [6]. The improvement of the assessment of visa applications including the consultation between central authorities, and the verification and identification of applicants at consulates and at checkpoints contributes to the internal security of the Member States and towards combating terrorism7 [7], which constitutes a horizontal objective and basic criterion for the common visa policy, as well as the fight against illegal immigration [8]. Simultaneously, the VIS will benefit bona fide travellers by improving the procedures for issuing visas and for checks.

The scope of this Regulation is related to the exchange of data on Schengen shortstay visas as the primary purpose of the VIS, including the national long-stay visas which are concurrently valid as short-stay visas. The exchange of data on other national long-stay visa of the Schengen States, which is also included in the Council conclusions of 19 February 2004 [9], requires a separate legal instrument: Other than for the short-term visas there exists no common aquis on procedures on the issue of long-term visas by Member States and for the relevant Article 63 point (3)(a) of the Treaty, the co-decision procedure does not apply, as long as there is no decision according to Article 67(2) of the Treaty.

This Regulation shall constitute the core instrument for the legal framework for the VIS. However, to complement this legal framework, further legal instruments will be needed in particular for:

a) amending the Common Consular Instructions (CCI) [10], concerning standards and procedures for taking the biometric data, including the obligation and specifying the exceptions to the recording of biometrics;

b) the development of a mechanism for the exchange of data with Ireland and the United Kingdom for the purposes to facilitate the application of the Dublin II Regulation (EC) No 343/2003 [11] and to assist in the identification and administrative procedures for returning of illegal immigrants, as far as Ireland and the UK participate in immigration and return policy;

c) the exchange of data on long stay-visas which are not concurrently valid as short-stay visas by the VIS; this would need further political orientation in view of the absence of a common aquis for such visas.

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Visa Information System