52003PC0172

Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION relating to measures envisaged to facilitate the procedures for applying for and issuing visas for members of the Olympic family taking part in the 2004 Olympic and/or Paralympic Games in Athens

(presented by the Commission)

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

1. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS

The goal of the Olympic Movement is to contribute to building a peaceful and better world by educating youth through sport. The activity of the Olympic Movement reaches its peak with the coming together of athletes of the world at the great sports festival, the Olympic Games.

The Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games are held in the same year.

As regards the movement of persons participating in the Olympic Games, who are considered members of the Olympic family, Rule 65 of the Olympic Charter of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), in its first two paragraphs, states that:

1. The Olympic identity and accreditation card is a document which confers on its holder the right to take part in the Olympic Games.

2. The Olympic identity and accreditation card establishes the identity of its holder and constitutes a document which, together with the passport or other official travel document of the holder, authorises entry into the country in which the city organising the Olympic Games is situated. It allows the holder to stay and to perform his Olympic function there for the duration of the Olympic Games and for a period not exceeding one month before and one month after the Olympic Games."

It is the IOC and, by delegation, the Organising Committee of the Olympic Games, who grant the Olympic identity and accreditation card to all persons eligible for accreditation. The card is a highly secure document, which gives access to the specific sites where competitions are held and to other events planned during the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Participants in the Olympic Games are selected by the IOC, the national Olympic and Paralympic organisations, the International Paralympic Committee, the international federations of Olympic sports and accredited Olympic and national media organisations (the organisations responsible), on the basis of an accreditation procedure, the details of which are laid down by the Organising Committee of the Olympic Games.

The Members of the IOC, the National Olympic Committees, the Organising Committee of the Olympic Games, the managers of international sporting federations, the athletes, the coaches and their assistants, the judges, the medical teams accompanying teams or individual contestants, duly accredited journalists, senior executives of companies sponsoring the Olympic Games are particularly likely to be chosen as members of the Olympic family.

Under the Olympic Charter, members of the Olympic family must be able to enter the territory of the State where the Games are held, without having to go through any other procedures or formalities.

In practice, the conditions under which participants in the Olympic and/or Paralympic Games may enter and move around the territory of the host country are an important factor, playing a crucial role in the choice of city to host the Games.

The European Union has always recognised the educational value of sport and its major economic and social impact. Thus, in its declaration on the specific characteristics of sport, the Nice European Council of December 2000 called on the Community to take these factors into consideration in implementing Community policies. Furthermore, on 6 February 2003, the European Parliament and the Council decided to proclaim 2004 as the European Year of Education through Sport.

It is therefore necessary to provide for temporary derogation from certain provisions of the acquis communautaire, in particular relating to visas, in order to facilitate to the organisation of the Olympic Games when they have already been awarded to a city in a Member State, or to possible applications from European cities to host this great sports festival.

The acquis communautaire on visas includes Regulation No 539/2001 listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders of the Member States and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement, [1] and the procedures and conditions for issuing visas as defined by the Schengen Convention and the measures taken to implement it, in particular the Common Consular Instructions, which lay down inter alia the type of visa to be issued, the Member State responsible for examining applications and the conditions governing the receipt and examination of applications and the decision on issuing a visa.

[1] As last amended by Regulation No 453/2003 of 6 March 2003, 0J L 69, 13.3.2003, p 10

The purpose of applying these rules on visas is first to ensure equitable treatment of third country nationals wishing to enter, reside in and move between Member States during a maximum period of three months, and second to ensure a high level of security, particularly as regards the prevention of clandestine immigration.

During its 106th session at Lausanne on 5 September 1997 in choosing Athens as host city for the 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the IOCmade Greece the first Member State, since the frontier-free Schengen area was established and integrated into the Union framework, on whose territory the Games will take place.

To enable Greece to honour the undertakings it has given pursuant to the Olympic Charter and to ensure that other cities in the Member States may apply to host the Olympic Games in future, the EU must adopt specific measures to facilitate the entry into its territory of members of the Olympic family. Such measures, justified by the exceptional nature of the event, must not undermine the essential principles and smooth operation of the Schengen area.

Given this constraint, the proposal does not set out to abolish the visa requirement for members of the Olympic family who, because of their nationality, are subject to that requirement under Regulation No 539/2001. The arrangements proposed are aimed merely at facilitating both the procedures for submitting applications and the form in which visas are issued. The derogation will apply only for the duration of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Athens. It is therefore, by derogation to the rules of the Schengen acquis, that individuals applying for a visa are not required to present themselves at the consular services neither to make the application, nor to receive the visa, and that the request does not have to be presented on the standard form available for this purpose. Furthermore, the requirements as regards documents to be produced in support of the application for a visa have been relaxed. Finally, the visa will not be issued in the form of the sticker envisaged in the acquis, but will be formalised by the marking of a specific number in the Olympic Games accreditation card. Nevertheless, the system proposed in no way affects the rules of the Schengen acquis as regards procedures and verifications required for the purposes of public order and public safety. The period in question runs -- for the summer Olympic Games -- from 13 July 2004 (one month before the official opening on 13 August) to 29 September 2004 (one month after the Games close on 29 August) and -- for the Paralympic Games -- from 18 August 2004 (one month before the official opening on 18 September) to 29 October 2004 (one month after the Games close on 29 September).

- The organisations responsible for proposing the members of the Olympic family will send the Organising Committee of the Olympic Games, at the same time as the request for accreditation, a list of persons subject to the visa requirement who are to participate in the 2004 Olympic and/or Paralympic Games in Athens.

- Basic data relating to the persons concerned, such as their name, forename, sex, date and place of birth and passport number, type and expiry date will be communicated on the accreditation card application form. For each person subject to the visa requirement, the Organising Committee of the Olympic Games will send a copy of that form to the services responsible for issuing visas in Greece.

- After the services responsible have examined each visa application in accordance with the acquis communautaire, they will notify the Organising Committee of the Olympic Games of the numbers of the visas issued. The visa issued will be a uniform-format, multiple-entry visa for a maximum period of only three months from the date of first entry. If the conditions governing the issue of a uniform visa are not met, the Greek authorities may issue visas with limited territorial validity to members of the Olympic family.

- The visa issued to a member of the Olympic family will be marked on the accreditation card by a reference to the number of the visa and to the passport number of the person concerned.

During the entire derogation period, the Greek authorities must inform the other Schengen States of any fact or event likely to have an impact on the level of security in the Schengen area and transmit any relevant data to them.

The derogation procedure described above does not rule out the possibility of a member of the Olympic family submitting an individual visa application in accordance with the Schengen acquis.

This proposal does not concern members of the Olympic family who are nationals of third countries subject to a visa requirement and holders of a residence permit or a provisional residence permit issued by one of the Member States implementing the Schengen acquis.

The proposal provides for an evaluation of the derogation arrangements after the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Commission will report to the Council and Parliament, on the basis of a report drawn up by the Greek authorities and any information transmitted by the Member States concerned. This evaluation will be used to adjust the derogation arrangements, for the future when a Schengen Member State is to host the Olympic Games.

Where no specific derogations are laid down in this proposal, the relevant provisions of the acquis communautaire on visas and controls at Member States' external borders will apply.

2. PROPORTIONALITY

Article 5 of the EC Treaty provides that "action by the Community shall not go beyond what is necessary to achieve the objectives of this Treaty". The form taken by Community action must be the simplest form allowing the proposal to attain its objective and to be implemented as efficiently as possible.

The proposal provides for a derogation from Community provisions on the procedures for applying for and issuing visas, for members of the Olympic family and limited to the duration of the 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Athens. The aim is to facilitate these persons' access to Greek territory, where the Games will take place, and their transit through one or more Member States, while meeting the requirements of security in an area where internal border controls have been abolished.

By its very nature this objective can be attained only by Community action, as no Member State would have the right to adopt purely national measures designed to achieve the desired effect.

3. CONSEQUENCES IN RELATION TO THE VARIOUS PROTOCOLS ANNEXED TO THE TREATY

The legal basis for the proposal concerns temporary derogations from Community legislation on visas adopted under Title IV of the Treaty and is therefore affected by the "variable geometry" arising from the Protocols on the positions of the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark. The proposal for a Regulation builds upon the Schengen acquis. Consideration must therefore be given to certain consequences arising from the various Protocols:

United Kingdom and Ireland

In accordance with Articles 4 and 5 of the Protocol integrating the Schengen acquis into the framework of the European Union, "Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which are not bound by the Schengen acquis, may at any time request to take part in some or all of the provisions of the acquis".

The proposal for a Regulation constitutes a development of the Schengen acquis, in which the United Kingdom and Ireland do not take part, in accordance with Council Decision 2000/365/EC of 29 May 2000 concerning the request of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and Council Decision 2002/192/EC of 28 February 2002 concerning Ireland's request to take part in some of the provisions of the Schengen acquis. The United Kingdom and Ireland are therefore not taking part in its adoption and are not bound by it or subject to its application.

Denmark

Under the Protocol on the position of Denmark annexed to the EC Treaty, Denmark does not take part in the adoption by the Council of measures pursuant to Title IV of the EC Treaty, with the exception of "measures determining the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of a visa when crossing the external borders of the Member States" or "measures relating to a uniform format for visas" (former Article 100c).

Where however, as in this case, the proposals constitute a development of the Schengen acquis, Article 5 of the Protocol states that, "Denmark shall decide within a period of six months after the Council has decided on a proposal or initiative to build upon the Schengen acquis under the provisions of Title IV of the Treaty establishing the European Community, whether it will implement this decision in its national law".

Norway and Iceland

In accordance with the first paragraph of Article 6 of the Protocol integrating the Schengen acquis, an Agreement was signed on 18 May 1999 between the Council, Norway and Iceland in order to associate those two countries with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis. [2]

[2] OJ L 176, 10.7.99, p. 35.

Article 1 of that Agreement states that Norway and Iceland are associated with the activities of the EC and the EU in the fields covered by the provisions referred to in Annexes A (provisions of the Schengen acquis) and B (provisions of European Community acts which have replaced corresponding provisions of -- or were adopted pursuant to -- the Schengen Convention) to the Agreement, and their further development.

Under Article 2 of the Agreement, Norway and Iceland implement and apply the provisions of all acts or measures taken by the European Union amending or building upon the integrated Schengen acquis (Annexes A and B).

The present proposal builds upon the Schengen acquis as defined in Annex A to the Agreement.

The matter must therefore be discussed in the "Mixed Committee" provided for in Article 4 of the Agreement to allow Norway and Iceland "to explain the problems they encounter in respect of " the measure and "to express themselves on any questions concerning the development of provisions of concern to them or the implementation thereof".

4. ARTICLE-BY-ARTICLE COMMENTARY

Article 1

Article 1 defines the purpose of the Regulation, i.e. to grant a derogation with regard to visas for members of the Olympic family for the duration of the 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games: this is a derogation limited to those provisions of the acquis, which concern procedures for requesting a visa, issuing it and the format this would take.

Article 2

Article 2 defines the various terms used:

Article 2(1) refers to the "responsible organisations" charged with proposing which persons may participate in the 2004 Olympic and/or Paralympic Games. These organisations are responsible for submitting the application for an accreditation card for participants, receiving accreditation cards and, where appropriate, amending the selection of participants.

The definition of persons eligible to be selected as members of the Olympic family (Article 2(2)) is indicative, listing those categories of persons which are usually invited to participate in the Olympic and/or Paralympic Games.

Article 2(3) provides for two accreditation cards to be issued, one for the Olympic Games and the other for the Paralympic Games. The technical features of these identity documents for each member of the Olympic family are defined by the Organising Committee of the Olympic Games in accordance with international security standards.

The proposed definition of the duration of the derogation (Article 2(4)) is necessary in order to comply with the visa rules laid down by the acquis communautaire (stay of not more than three months in any six-month period), taking into account the indicative duration of the Olympic and Paralympic Games as set out in the Olympic Charter.

This Article (paragraphs 5 and 6) also defines the Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and the services responsible for issuing visas.

Article 3

The conditions to be met by members of the Olympic family in order to qualify for the proposed derogation are inspired by the conditions of entry laid down by Article 5(1) of the Schengen Agreement but made more flexible to take account of the specific characteristics of participation in the Olympic and Paralympic Games (no need to demonstrate compliance with the conditions of the stay or to have sufficient means of subsistence).

Article 4

This Article provides that the responsible organisations must, together with the application to the Organising Committee of the Olympic Games for an accreditation card, submit a collective application for visas for the members of the Olympic family who are required to have a visa in accordance with the acquis communautaire.

A single application per person is possible for the entire duration of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

It is the Organising Committee of the Olympic Games which forwards the collective application for visas as well as the documents relative to accreditation to the authorities responsible for examining visa applications.

Article 5

This Article defines the issuing procedure, stipulating that the visa is issued following verification of whether the conditions mentioned in Article 3 have been met (paragraph 1). The visa issued is a uniform short-stay, multiple-entry visa valid for three months. Within this period of validity, the visa allows the holder to remain in Greece and the other Schengen countries. It also authorises the holder to transit other Schengen countries on their way to Greece to participate in the Olympic and/or Paralympic Games or from Greece after participating in them.

The Greek authorities may issue a visa with limited territorial validity to members of the Olympic family who do not fall into the categories set out in Article 3 points c) and d) (i.e.) those identified for the purposes of refusing entry, or those posing a threat to public policy, the national security or the international relations of one of the Member States.

This possibility of issuing a visa with limited territorial validity is a case of the application of Article 5, paragraph 2 of the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreements, which envisages in a general manner that a visa with limited territorial validity can be issued where necessary on humanitarian grounds, on grounds of national interest or because of international obligations.

Article 6

The competent authorities must transmit the numbers of the visas issued to the Organising Committee of the Olympic Games, which then enters the visa and passport number of the person concerned on the accreditation card.

Article 7

In view the exceptional nature of this event and its purpose, the visa is to be issued free of charge to members of the Olympic family.

Article 8

This Article defines the procedure to be followed in the event that the selection made by the responsible organisation is changed at the last minute. Since this is a fairly common, albeit limited, practice, it is proposed that visas issued for persons who are no longer members of the Olympic family should be cancelled. The Greek authorities must transmit information concerning cancellations to the competent authorities of the other Member States responsible for border checks.

Having a visa cancelled in this way will not preclude the person concerned from being able to apply for a visa in accordance with the usual procedures.

Article 9

This provision lays down the scope of border checks to be carried out on members of the Olympic family. These will be limited to verification of compliance with the conditions set out in Article 3 of this Regulation, which are less rigid that the normal rules applicable to checks at the external borders.

Article 10

The derogation arrangements will be assessed after the closure of the Paralympic Games. On the basis of the report submitted by Greece six months after that date and any information provided by other Member States within the same time limit, the Commission will inform the European Parliament and the Council of how these derogation arrangements worked.

Article 11

[Standard final provision.]

2003/0061 (CNS)

Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION relating to measures envisaged to facilitate the procedures for applying for and issuing visas for members of the Olympic family taking part in the 2004 Olympic and/or Paralympic Games in Athens

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 62(2) points a) and b)ii thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, [3]

[3] OJ C , , p. .

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament, [4]

[4] OJ C , , p. .

Whereas:

(1) The Olympic Charter envisages for members of the Olympic family a "right of entry" to the country of the city hosting the Olympic Games, on presentation of the Olympic accreditation card and their passport or other official travel document, without having to go through any procedures and formalities other than those relating to the accreditation card.

(2) The organisations responsible choose and propose the persons who may participate in the Olympic and/or Paralympic Games as members of the Olympic family, in accordance with the accreditation procedure laid down by the Organising Committee of the Olympic Games.

(3) The Organising Committee of the Olympic Games issues accreditation cards to members of the Olympic family. The accreditation card is a highly secure document, which gives access to the specific sites where competitions are held and to other events planned during the Olympic and Paralympic Games, in view of the fact that the Games may be the target of terrorist attacks.

(4) Greece is organising the 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Athens, this being the first time that such an event has been organised by a Member State participating fully in the frontier-free Schengen area.

(5) To enable Greece to organise the Olympic and Paralympic Games and in view of the obligations arising from the Olympic Charter, the Union must establish legislation facilitating the issue of visas to members of the Olympic family.

(6) There is therefore a need to provide for a temporary derogation for the duration of the Olympic and Paralympic Games for members of the Olympic family who are nationals of third countries subject to the visa requirement under 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.

(7) The scope of this derogation should be limited to the provisions of the acquis concerning the submission of visa applications, the issuing of visas and their format. Equally, the methods of controlling the external boarders should be adapted within the limits necessary to take into account changes in the visa system.

(8) Visa applications for members of the Olympic family taking part in the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Athens shall be submitted to the Organising Committee of the Olympic Games via the organisations responsible at the same time as the application for accreditation. The accreditation application form shall contain basic data relating to the persons concerned, such as their name, sex, date and place of birth and passport number, type and expiry date. These applications shall be forwarded to the Greek services responsible for issuing visas.

(9) Irrespective of the provisions of this Regulation, members of the Olympic family may still submit individual applications for visas in accordance with the relevant acquis communautaire.

(10) Where no specific provisions are laid down in this Regulation, the relevant provisions of the acquis communautaire on visas and controls at Member States' external borders will apply. This Regulation does not apply to members of the Olympic family who are nationals of third countries subject to a visa requirement and holders of a residence permit or a provisional residence permit issued by one of the Member States forming part of the frontier-free Schengen area.

(11) The derogation arrangements established by this Regulation must be evaluated in the light of the experience of putting them into practice. Provision must therefore be made for an evaluation after the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

(12) In order to give effect to the main objective of facilitating the issue of visas to the members of the Olympic family and in accordance with the principle of proportionality, it is necessary and appropriate to adopt this temporary derogation to certain community provisions. This regulation does not go beyond what is necessary to achieve the objective envisaged, in conformity with Article 5, paragraph 3 of the Treaty

(13) As regards the Republic of Iceland and the Kingdom of Norway, this Regulation constitutes a development of the provisions of the Schengen acquis and thus falls within the area defined in Article 1 (B) of Council Decision 1999/437/EC of 17 May 1999 on certain arrangements for the application of the Agreement concluded by the Council of the European Union and the Republic of Iceland and the Kingdom of Norway concerning the association of those two States with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis. [5]

[5] OJ L 176, 10.7.1999, p. 31.

(14) In accordance with Articles 1 and 2 of the Protocol on the position of Denmark annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Denmark is not taking part in the adoption by the Council of this Regulation and is therefore not bound by it or subject to its application. However, since this Regulation builds upon the Schengen acquis under Title IV of Part Three of the Treaty establishing the European Community, Denmark will, in accordance with Article 5 of that Protocol, decide within a period of six months after the Council has adopted this Regulation whether or not it will implement it in its national law.

(15) This Regulation constitutes a development of the Schengen acquis, in which the United Kingdom does not take part in accordance with Articles 4 and 5 of the Protocol integrating the Schengen acquis into the framework of the European Union, annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty establishing the European Community, so that the United Kingdom is not taking part in the adoption of this Regulation and is not bound by it or subject to its application.

(16) This Regulation constitutes a development of the Schengen acquis, in which Ireland does not take part in accordance with Articles 4 and 5 of the Protocol integrating the Schengen acquis into the framework of the European Union, annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty establishing the European Community, so that Ireland is not taking part in the adoption of this Regulation and is not bound by it or subject to its application,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Chapter I

purpose and definitions

Article 1

Purpose

This Regulation establishes specific provisions introducing a temporary derogation from certain provisions of the Schengen acquis concerning the procedures for applying for and issuing visas for members of the Olympic family for the duration of the 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Athens.

Apart from these specific provisions the relevant provisions of the Schengen acquis concerning procedures for applying for and issuing the uniform visa remain in force.

Article 2

Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation:

(1) "Responsible organisations" means the official organisations, in terms of the Olympic Charter, which are entitled to submit lists of members of the Olympic family to the Organising Committee of the 2004 Olympic Games with a view to the issue of accreditation cards for the 2004 Olympic and/or Paralympic Games;

(2) "Member of the Olympic family" means any persons who are members of the International Olympic Committee, the International Paralympic Committee, International Federations, the National Olympic and Paralympic Committees, the Organising Committees of the Olympic Games and the national associations, such as athletes, judges/referees, coaches and other sports technicians, medical personnel attached to teams or individual sportsmen/women and media-accredited journalists, senior executives, donors, sponsors or other official invitees, who agree to be guided by the Olympic Charter, act under the control and supreme authority of the International Olympic Committee, are included on the lists of the responsible organisations and are accredited by the Organising Committee of the 2004 Olympic as participants in the 2004 Olympic and/or Paralympic Games;

(3) "Olympic accreditation card" means one of two secure documents, one for the Olympic Games and one for the Paralympic Games, bearing a photograph of its holder, establishing the identity of the member of the Olympic family and authorising access to the facilities at which competitions are held and to other events scheduled during the period of the Olympic and Paralympic Games;

(4) "Duration of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games" means the period from 13 July 2004 to 29 September 2004 for the 2004 Summer Olympic Games and the period from 18 August 2004 to 29 October 2004 for the 2004 Autumn Paralympic Games;

(5) "Organising Committee of the 2004 Olympic Games" means the Committee set up under Article 2 of Greek Law 2598/1998 to organise the 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Athens, which decides on accreditation of members of the Olympic family taking part in those Games;

(6) "Services responsible for issuing visas" means the services designated in Greece to examine applications and issue visas to members of the Olympic family.

Chapter II

ISSUE OF VISAS

Article 3

Conditions which must be met for a visa to be issued to a member of the Olympic family

A visa may be issued pursuant to this Regulation only where the person concerned:

a). has been designated by one of the responsible organisations and accredited by the Organising Committee of the 2004 Olympic Games as a participant in the Olympic and/or Paralympic Games

b) holds a valid travel document authorising the crossing of the external borders, as referred to in Article 5 of the Schengen Agreement,

c) has not been identified for non-admission,

d) is not deemed liable to undermine public order, national security or the international relations of one of the Member States.

Article 4

Filing of the application

1 Where a responsible organisation draws up a list of the persons selected to take part in the Olympic and/or Paralympic Games, it may, together with the application for an Olympic accreditation card for the persons selected, file a collective application for visas for those persons selectedwho are required to be in possession of a visa in accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 539/2001.

2 Collective applications for visas for the persons concerned shall be forwarded at the same time as applications for the issue of an Olympic accreditation card, to the Organising Committee of the 2004 Olympic Games in accordance with the procedure established by it.

3 A single visa application per person shall be filed for persons taking part in the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

4 The Organising Committee of the 2004 Olympic Games shall forward to the services responsible for issuing visas collective applications for visas as quickly as possible, together with copies of applications for the issue of an Olympic accreditation card for the persons concerned, bearing their name, forename, sex, date and place of birth and passport number, type and expiry date.

Article 5

Examination of the collective application for visas and type of the visa issued

1 The visa shall be issued by the services responsible for the issue of visas following an examination designed to ensure that the conditions set out in Article 3 are met.

2 The visa issued shall be a uniform short-stay, multiple entry visa authorising a stay of ninety (90) days for the duration of the Olympics and/or Paralympic Games.

3 Where the member of the family concerned does not meet the conditions set out in Article 3 points c) and d), the services responsible for issuing visas may issue a visa with limited territorial validity in conformity with Article 5, paragraph 2 of the Convention implementing the Schengen agreement.

Article 6

Form of the visa

1 The visa shall take the form of two numbers being entered on the Olympic accreditation card. The first number shall be the visa number. In the case of a uniform visa, this number shall be made up of seven (7) characters comprising six (6) digits preceded by the letter "C". In the case of a visa with limited territorial validity, this number shall be made up of eight (8) characters comprising six (6) digits preceded by the letters "GR". The second number shall be the number of the passport of the person concerned.

2 The services responsible for issuing visas shall forward the visa numbers to the Organising Committee of the 2004 Olympic Games for the purposes of issuing accreditation cards.

Article 7

Waiver of Fees

The processing of visa applications and the issue of visas shall not give rise to any fees being charged by the services responsible for issuing visas.

Chapter III

other aspects

Article 8

Cancellation of a visa

Where the list of persons put forward as participants in the Olympic and/or Paralympic Games is amended before the Games begin, the responsible organisations shall inform the Organising Committee of the 2004 Olympic Games thereof so that the accreditation cards of the persons removed from the list can be revoked. The Organising Committee of the Olympic Games shall then inform the services responsible for issuing visas thereof, notifying the numbers of the visas in question.

The services responsible for issuing visas shall cancel the visas of the persons concerned. They shall inform the authorities responsible for border checks thereof, and the latter shall forward this information to the competent authorities of the other Member States.

Article 9

External border checks

When crossing the external borders of the Member States, the entry checks carried out on members of the Olympic family shall be limited to verifying compliance with the conditions set out in Article 3.

Article 10

Information for the European Parliament and the Council

Not later than six months after the close of the Paralympic Games, Greece shall transmit to the Commission a report on the various aspects of the implementation of the provisions of this Regulation.

On the basis of this report and any information supplied by other Member States within the same time limit, the Commission shall draw up an assessment of the functioning of the derogation in respect of the issue of visas to members of the Olympic family, as provided for by this Regulation, and shall inform the the European Parliament and the Council thereof.

Article 11

Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States in accordance with the Treaty establishing the European Community.

Done at Brussels,

For the Council

The President