3.7.2015

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 173/48

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AGREEMENT

between the European Union and the Republic of Vanuatu on the short-stay visa waiver

THE EUROPEAN UNION, hereinafter referred to as ‘the Union’ or ‘the EU’, and

THE REPUBLIC OF VANUATU, hereinafter referred to as ‘Vanuatu’,

hereinafter referred to jointly as the ‘Contracting Parties’,

WITH A VIEW TO further developing friendly relations between the Contracting Parties and desiring to facilitate travel by ensuring visa-free entry and short stay for their citizens,

HAVING REGARD to Regulation (EU) No 509/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 amending Council Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement (1) by, inter alia, transferring 19 third countries, including Vanuatu, to the list of third countries whose nationals are exempt from the visa requirement for short stays in the Member States,

BEARING IN MIND that Article 1 of Regulation (EU) No 509/2014 states that for those 19 countries, the exemption from the visa requirement shall apply from the date of entry into force of an agreement on visa exemption to be concluded with the Union,

DESIRING to safeguard the principle of equal treatment of all EU citizens,

TAKING INTO ACCOUNT that persons travelling for the purpose of carrying out a paid activity during their short stay are not covered by this Agreement and therefore for that category the relevant rules of Union law and national law of the Member States and the national law of Vanuatu on the visa obligation or exemption and on the access to employment continue to apply,

TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the Protocol on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland in respect of the area of freedom, security and justice and the Protocol on the Schengen acquis integrated into the framework of the European Union, annexed to the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and confirming that the provisions of this Agreement do not apply to the United Kingdom and Ireland,

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Purpose

This Agreement provides for visa-free travel for the citizens of the Union and for the citizens of Vanuatu when travelling to the territory of the other Contracting Party for a maximum period of 90 days in any 180-day period.

Article 2

Definitions

For the purpose of this Agreement:

(a)	‘Member State’ shall mean any Member State of the Union, with the exception of the United Kingdom and Ireland;

(b)	‘a citizen of the Union’ shall mean a national of a Member State as defined in point (a);

(c)	‘a citizen of Vanuatu’ shall mean any person who holds the citizenship of Vanuatu;

(d)	‘Schengen area’ shall mean the area without internal borders comprising the territories of the Member States as defined in point (a) applying the Schengen acquis in full.

Article 3

Scope of application

1.   Citizens of the Union holding a valid ordinary, diplomatic, service, official or special passport issued by a Member State may enter and stay without a visa in the territory of Vanuatu for the period of stay as defined in Article 4(1).

Citizens of Vanuatu holding a valid ordinary, diplomatic, service, official or special passport issued by Vanuatu may enter and stay without a visa in the territory of the Member States for the period of stay as defined in Article 4(2).

2.   Paragraph 1 of this Article does not apply to persons travelling for the purpose of carrying out a paid activity.

For that category of persons, each Member State individually may decide to impose a visa requirement on the citizens of Vanuatu or to withdraw it in accordance with Article 4(3) of Council Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 (2).

For that category of persons, Vanuatu may decide on the visa requirement or the visa waiver for the citizens of each Member State individually in accordance with its national law.

3.   The visa waiver provided for by this Agreement shall apply without prejudice to the laws of the Contracting Parties relating to the conditions of entry and short stay. The Member States and Vanuatu reserve the right to refuse entry into and short stay in their territories if one or more of these conditions is not met.

4.   The visa waiver applies regardless of the mode of transport used to cross the borders of the Contracting Parties.

5.   Issues not covered by this Agreement shall be governed by Union law, the national law of the Member States and by the national law of Vanuatu.

Article 4

Duration of stay

1.   Citizens of the Union may stay in the territory of Vanuatu for a maximum period of 90 days in any 180-day period.

2.   Citizens of Vanuatu may stay in the territory of the Member States fully applying the Schengen acquis for a maximum period of 90 days in any 180-day period. That period shall be calculated independently of any stay in a Member State which does not yet apply the Schengen acquis in full.

Citizens of Vanuatu may stay for a maximum period of 90 days in any 180-day period in the territory of each of the Member States that do not yet apply the Schengen acquis in full, independently of the period of stay calculated for the territory of the Member States fully applying the Schengen acquis.

3.   This Agreement does not affect the possibility for Vanuatu and the Member States to extend the period of stay beyond 90 days in accordance with their respective national laws and Union law.

Article 5

Territorial application

1.   As regards the French Republic, this Agreement shall apply only to the European territory of the French Republic.

2.   As regards the Kingdom of the Netherlands, this Agreement shall apply only to the European territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Article 6

Joint Committee for the management of the Agreement

1.   The Contracting Parties shall set up a Joint Committee of experts (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Committee’), composed of representatives of the Union and representatives of Vanuatu. The Union shall be represented by the European Commission.

2.   The Committee shall have, inter alia, the following tasks:

(a)	monitoring the implementation of this Agreement;

(b)	suggesting amendments or additions to this Agreement;

(c)	settling disputes arising from the interpretation or application of this Agreement.

3.   The Committee shall be convened whenever necessary, at the request of one of the Contracting Parties.

4.   The Committee shall establish its rules of procedure.

Article 7

Relationship of this Agreement to existing bilateral visa waiver agreements between the Member States and Vanuatu

This Agreement shall take precedence over any bilateral agreements or arrangements concluded between individual Member States and Vanuatu, in so far as they cover issues falling within the scope hereof.

Article 8

Final provisions

1.   This Agreement shall be ratified or approved by the Contracting Parties in accordance with their respective internal procedures and shall enter into force on the first day of the second month following the date of the later of the two notifications by which the Contracting Parties notify each other that those procedures have been completed.

This Agreement shall be applied on a provisional basis as from the date of signature hereof.

2.   This Agreement is concluded for an indefinite period, unless terminated in accordance with paragraph 5.

3.   This Agreement may be amended by written agreement of the Contracting Parties. Amendments shall enter into force after the Contracting Parties have notified each other of the completion of their internal procedures necessary for this purpose.

4.   Each Contracting Party may suspend in whole or in part this Agreement, in particular, for reasons of public policy, the protection of national security or the protection of public health, illegal immigration or upon the reintroduction of the visa requirement by either Contracting Party. The decision on suspension shall be notified to the other Contracting Party not later than two months before its planned entry into force. A Contracting Party that has suspended the application of this Agreement shall immediately inform the other Contracting Party should the reasons for that suspension cease to exist and shall lift that suspension.

5.   Each Contracting Party may terminate this Agreement by giving written notice to the other Party. This Agreement shall cease to be in force 90 days thereafter.

6.   Vanuatu may suspend or terminate this Agreement only in respect of all the Member States.

7.   The Union may suspend or terminate this Agreement only in respect of all of its Member States.

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(1)  OJ L 149, 20.5.2014, p. 67.

(2)  Council Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 of 15 March 2001 listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement (OJ L 81, 21.3.2001, p. 1).

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