Despite the existing regulatory framework for visa issuance that lays out all the procedures for a visa, including required documents, the period of processing and more, the Member States’ visa-issuing practices still diverge in several aspects the quinquennial report on the Functioning of the Schengen Evaluation and Monitoring Mechanism has found.
The report, which was published last week, consists of the findings of evaluations carried out in the last five years within the Schengen Area Member States in several policy areas, including the common visa policy.
According to the report, upon 29 evaluations that were carried out in relation to common visa policy throughout the last five years, the Commission has concluded that while the Member States adequately implement the policy to a large extent, serious deficiencies exist.
“Despite a common regulatory framework, Member States’ visa-issuing practices still diverge in several aspects,” the report reads, further explaining these practices.
The Commission notes that when it comes to visa-issuing practices, they mostly differ among the Member States when determining the validity of visas or the supporting documents to be requested, in spite of the legally binding harmonised lists adopted by the Commission which the Member States are obliged to apply.
At the same time, the examination of applications has not been found to be sufficiently thorough in all instances, particularly in the case of centralised decision-making.
“Insufficient staff training and staff shortages have been observed in many consulates, and this has led that in some locations, consulates are not able to meet the deadlines set out in the Visa Code,” the report notes, adding that some of the consular staff still view Schengen visas as ‘national’ visas.
The report also evaluates the work of external service providers (ESP), to which many of the Member States have outsourced visa admission and processing, noting that their activities are not always adequate and their practices do not always comply with legal requirements.
Another finding of the report highlights the fact that applicants have their fingerprints taken, even when they have submitted them in the previous five years. According to the Schengen visa code applicants do not have to submit their fingerprints if they have done so in the previous five years when applying for another visa.
As per the usage of the Visa Information System (VIS) among the Member States, the report identifies the following deficiencies:
Sometimes inadequate quality data is entered into the Visa Information System
National case handling systems are not always adapted to the Visa Code and Visa Information System workflow
There’s a lack of adequate IT training
There’s limited awareness of certain functionalities of the system
The report, however, points out that a considerable number of these deficiencies have been successfully addressed in these past five years.
EU Commission’s quinquennial report on the Functioning of the Schengen Evaluation and Monitoring Mechanism has been published in advance of the Schengen Forum between the Members of the European Parliament and Home Affairs Ministers that is being held today, on November 30, and gathers the Interior Ministries and border police to foster concrete cooperation.
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