Visas

The permanent representatives of EU member-states agreed to extend the emergency border control within the Schengen area by three months until the middle of May.

Immigration and security continue to dominate the political agenda, reported Reuters, cited by BTA.

As Greek authorities struggle to host more than 60,000 migrants stranded in the country, the European Commission on Wednesday proposed the prolongation of border controls in the passport-free Schengen area for another three months as the bloc is still working on steps to deal with the migrant crisis.

Malta's rotating presidency of the council of the European Union will work towards an improvement of the access of Bulgaria to Schengen border systems for the exchange of information in spite of the existing problem with joining the Schengen area, announced Maltese Interior Minister Carmelo Abela in front of deputies from the legal committee of the European Parliament.

A Turkish-EU deal on migrants is yielding positive results, the European Commission said on Dec. 8, but no progress was made on the issue of visa-free travel for Turks even though the process has been unblocked for Ukrainians and Georgians.

"Our comprehensive European approach on migration is showing positive results," European Commission First Vice-President Frans Timmermans said.

The European Commission will table a non-binding proposal, Thursday, according to which illegal immigrants that have entered EU countries through Greece could be sent back to Greece. The Commission proposed the measure take effect from mid March, after it had judged that the screening, registration and asylum process in Greece had notably improved.

Bulgarian lawmakers voted on Friday to introduce tougher requirements for long-term visa applicants who represent foreign entities.

Under the new amendments, foreign nationals will be allowed to extend their stay in the country if they cannot leave it for a reason not depending on them. The change means a restoration of the previous regime which included such an option.

The European Commission on Wednesday called for the introduction of prior security checks for visa-free travellers entering the EU's passport-free Schengen zone in order to prevent potential terrorist threats.

If the proposal is approved, citizens of Balkan countries that do not need visas to travel to Western Europe will have to undergo online security checks.

Millions of tourists and business people visiting Europe will have to complete a 5 euro ($5.35) online security check before arrival if an EU plan to tighten controls on foreigners who do not need visas wins approval.

The EU has allowed 5 states in Schengen to continue the checks for illegal migrants along their internal land frontiers until February 2017.

The final decision was adopted by the governments of the member-states after a proposal by the European Commission.

Turkey does not fulfill seven of the requirements for the abolition of the visa regime. We reckon that two of these requirements cannot be fulfilled at present, stated a spokesperson of the European Commission, cited by bTV.

The conditions for the abolition of the visa regime are conditions. When they are fulfilled, the visa regime will be abolished, added the spokesperson.