Visa-free travel brings significant benefits for the EU and partners around the globe. It makes travel more convenient and is an important tool to promote people-to-people contacts, tourism, economic development and cultural exchange. The EU currently has a visa-free regime in place with 60 third countries. Under this regime, nationals from these countries can enter the Schengen area for short stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period without a visa. The EU’s visa-free policy is based on the principle of visa reciprocity.
The number of travellers between the EU and visa-free non-EU countries in 2019 was 364.8 million. This represents a 7% increase from 2018.
At the same time, the Commission’s monitoring of the EU’s visa-free regimes, including its reports under the Visa Suspension Mechanism, has shown that visa-free travel can also be the source of significant migration and security challenges.
Ongoing (updated on 02/05/2024) - Bureau decision date: 18/01/2024
An efficient intellectual property rights system is a staple of any solid industrial strategy. However, counterfeiting not only leads to losses of revenue for IP rightsholders, but also poses significant risks to consumer safety, public health and the environment. The initiative taken by the Commission with its Recommendation on measures to combat counterfeiting and enhance the enforcement of intellectual property rights will aim to protect the integrity of the single market. The cross-border nature of the trade in counterfeit goods and their online dissemination means that Member States alone cannot do this. EU intervention is therefore the best course of action.
Ongoing (updated on 02/05/2024) - Bureau decision date: 19/03/2024
The aim of the opinion is to draw attention to the impact of the non-Schengen status of Bulgaria and Romania and neighbouring EU-countries on the Single Market, to assess the impact of non-Schengen membership on the competitiveness of these countries and the potential costs/benefits of Schengen for them, and to propose recommendations for policy-makers on how to address the negative effects of non-Schengen on the Single Market.
Ongoing (updated on 02/05/2024) - Bureau decision date: 18/01/2024
The Territorial Agenda (TA) 2030 is an inter-governmental declaration with no direct legal, financial or institutional implementation instrument. The application of the Territorial Agenda 2030 relies on informal multilevel cooperation between Member States, sub-national authorities, the European Commission, the European Parliament, the European Committee of the Regions, the European Economic and Social Committee, the European Investment Bank and other relevant players.
Ongoing (updated on 02/05/2024) - Bureau decision date: 19/03/2024
