Abstract
This article explores the development of EU visa policy with special emphasis put on legal and institutional dimension. Basing on a formal analysis of primary and secondary law of the European Union and literature of the subject, it claims that intergovernmental roots of common visa policy strongly affect the current structure of EU regulations on visas. The research is focused on the formal development in this area of integration with particular attention paid to intergovernmental dimension which is still present in the framework of Schengen visa regime. Visa facilitation agreements as part of EU visa law as well as political determinants of common visa policy are also examined. The article concludes that visa issuing still remains a complex matter, characterized by dispersion of visa acquis due to separate provisions that still remain in force and which presents a mix of hard and soft law. Since the Member States have retained the right to issue national, long-term visas and the national practice of issuing uniform visas remains varied, the European integration in the area of visas is still incomplete.
Highlights
The main aim of this paper is to analyze the intergovernmental dimension of European visa policy and law
Visa Code arrangements for the issuance of visas are regulated by other legislative acts, including Regulation 539/2001 establishing common lists of countries whose nationals must hold visas when entering European Union territory and countries that are exempt from such requirement49
While specific legislation on visa policy (Visa Code) was only adopted in 2009, there had been a gradual harmonization of visa policies for about two decades preceding that date64
Summary
The main aim of this paper is to analyze the intergovernmental dimension of European visa policy and law. The key purpose is to outline the determinants of development of common visa regulations and assess an impact of Schengen acquis on the current structure of visa law. These questions are addressed in several steps. Basing on a formal analysis of institutional and legal development of the common visa regime, the paper proceeds to a description of the major sources of European Union visa law. The article combines elements of legal and political analysis with reference to the Schengen visa regime. The paper is based on extensive review of recent literature devoted to the European Union visa policy and law.
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