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PURPOSE: to
conclude the Agreement between the European Community and Antigua and Barbuda
on the short-stay visa waiver. LEGISLATIVE
ACT: Council Decision 2009/896/EC on the conclusion of the Agreement between
the European Community and Antigua and Barbuda on the short-stay visa waiver. CONTENT: by
this Decision, the Council approves the Agreement between the European
Community and Antigua and Barbuda on the short-stay visa waiver on behalf of
the Community. The content of
this agreement can be summarised as follows: Purpose: this agreement provides for visa-free travel for the citizens of
the European Union and for the citizens of Antigua and Barbuda when
travelling to the territory of the other Contracting Party for a maximum
period of three months during a six months period. European citizens are
already exempt from the visa obligation by Antigua and Barbuda, with the
exception of the Czech Republic, Latvia, Slovakia and Iceland. A provision
has been included in the Agreement stating that Antigua and Barbuda may
suspend or terminate the Agreement only in respect of all the Member States
of the European Community and, reciprocally, the Community may also suspend
or terminate the Agreement only in respect of all of its Member States. The
specific situation of the United Kingdom and Ireland is reflected in the
preamble. Scope: the visa waiver covers all categories of persons (ordinary,
diplomatic or service/official passport holders) travelling for all kinds of
purposes, except for the purpose of carrying out a paid activity. For this
latter category, each Member State and also Antigua and Barbuda remains free
to impose the visa requirement on the citizens of the other Party in
accordance with the applicable Community or national law. In order to ensure
harmonised implementation, a joint declaration is attached to the Agreement
on the interpretation of the category of persons travelling for the purpose
of carrying out a paid activity. Duration of
stay: the agreement takes into account the
situation of the Member States that do not yet apply the Schengen acquis in full.
As long as they are not part of the Schengen area without internal borders,
the visa waiver confers a right for the nationals of Antigua and Barbuda to
stay for three months on the territory of each of those Member States
(Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania), independently of the period calculated for the
whole Schengen area. Territorial
application: in the case of France and the
Netherlands, the visa waiver would entitle nationals of the six countries to
stay only in those Member States’ European territories. Lastly, the UK and
Ireland are not taking part in the adoption of this Decision and are not
bound by it or subject to its application. It should be
noted that this Agreement, signed on behalf of the Community on 28 May 2009,
has been provisionally applied since that date subject to its
conclusion at a later date, in accordance with Council
Decision 2009/478/EC. ENTRY INTO
FORCE: the Agreement enters into force when all the necessary formalities
have been completed.
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