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Serbia, European Commission initial visa relaxations agreement
Belgrade,
16 May 2007
The Republic of Serbia and the European Commission have initialled the Agreement on Visa Relaxations and Agreement on Readmission in Brussels today following the final round of talks at the European Commission headquarters.
On behalf of the Serbian government, agreements were initialled by Head of the Serbian government’s EU Integration Office Tanja Miscevic, and on behalf of the European Commission by Director of the Directorate General of Justice, Freedom and Security and EU Deputy Special Representative for Immigration, Asylum and Borders Jean-Louis de Brauwer.
Both agreements should be signed in autumn in order to come into force on January 1, 2008.
Following several months of talks, the two sides reached agreement on the remaining contestable points due to which the agreements could not have been initialled in mid-April and which refer to the section of the readmission agreement that regulates the acceptance of third country citizens who illegally entered the EU.
According to the readmission agreement, between 100,000 and 150,000 citizens illegally staying in the EU are to be returned to Serbia.
The readmission agreement is a precondition for the Agreement on Visa Relaxations which should be granted to businesspeople, students, experts, doctors, lawyers, architects, sportspeople, artist and culture workers, civil society activists and NGO employees, journalists, members of religious communities and other categories.
Visa relaxations will also apply to some tourist journeys, on condition that tour operators provide a guarantee for tourists, which means that tourist agencies in Serbia would have to be well positioned in EU member countries and above all worthy partners.
The Serbian delegation succeeded in seeking that a minimum of documents be demanded for visa relaxations, such as student’s grade book and a letter of invitation from an EU institution for university students, whereas for businesspeople the documentation should comprise a letter of confirmation from the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and a letter of invitation from an EU member country.
All categories of Serbian citizens with the right to visa relaxations will be given visas free-of-charge at consular offices of EU countries, whereas until now a fee of €35 per visa was mandatory.
Both agreements should be signed in autumn in order to come into force on January 1, 2008.
Following several months of talks, the two sides reached agreement on the remaining contestable points due to which the agreements could not have been initialled in mid-April and which refer to the section of the readmission agreement that regulates the acceptance of third country citizens who illegally entered the EU.
According to the readmission agreement, between 100,000 and 150,000 citizens illegally staying in the EU are to be returned to Serbia.
The readmission agreement is a precondition for the Agreement on Visa Relaxations which should be granted to businesspeople, students, experts, doctors, lawyers, architects, sportspeople, artist and culture workers, civil society activists and NGO employees, journalists, members of religious communities and other categories.
Visa relaxations will also apply to some tourist journeys, on condition that tour operators provide a guarantee for tourists, which means that tourist agencies in Serbia would have to be well positioned in EU member countries and above all worthy partners.
The Serbian delegation succeeded in seeking that a minimum of documents be demanded for visa relaxations, such as student’s grade book and a letter of invitation from an EU institution for university students, whereas for businesspeople the documentation should comprise a letter of confirmation from the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and a letter of invitation from an EU member country.
All categories of Serbian citizens with the right to visa relaxations will be given visas free-of-charge at consular offices of EU countries, whereas until now a fee of €35 per visa was mandatory.
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