Table of Contents:
Local border traffic at external land borders
Outline of the Community (European Union) legislation about Local border traffic at external land borders
Topics
These categories group together and put in context the legislative and non-legislative initiatives which deal with the same topic.
Justice freedom and security > Free movement of persons asylum and immigration
Local border traffic at external land borders
Document or Iniciative
Regulation (EC) No 1931/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 laying down rules on local border traffic at the external land borders of the Member States and amending the provisions of the Schengen Convention.
Summary
Conditions of entry and stay
Local border traffic refers to the regular and frequent crossing for legitimate reasons of the European Union’s (EU) external border by nationals of neighbouring third countries resident in the border areas with the Union.
These border residents may cross the external land border * of a Member State provided that they are in possession of a permit delivered to facilitate such a crossing (and of a passport, if the Member State in question so requires), they are not persons in respect of whom the Schengen Information System (SIS) has been alerted and they are not deemed to be a threat to public order.
These persons are authorised to stay in the border area * for a maximum duration stipulated in the bilateral agreement between a Member State and the neighbouring third country. The stay must not exceed three months.
Permits
Border residents are given a permit limited to the border area which is valid for between one and five years.
The fees will be equivalent to those payable for a short-term multiple-entry visa. However, Member States may decide to reduce or even waive the fees.
Agreements on the implementation of the local border traffic regime
Member States may conclude agreements on local border traffic with neighbouring third countries. They may also maintain existing agreements provided they comply with this regulation. Furthermore, Member States must ensure that third countries apply the principle of reciprocity and grant comparable treatment to citizens of the EU wishing to travel to their border area.
These agreements can allow border residents to use:
- border crossing points open only to border residents;
- special lanes at ordinary border crossing points;
- exceptional authorisations for border residents to cross the border outside authorised border crossing points and hours.
Member States must enforce effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties in the event of misuse of the local border traffic regime. These may include cancelling or revoking the permit.
Context
This Regulation was drawn up in response to the plan for the management of external borders of the Member States of the European Union endorsed by the Seville European Council of 21 and 22 June 2002, which highlighted the need to adopt measures to regulate local border traffic.
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References
| Act | Entry into force | Deadline for transposition in the Member States | Official Journal |
|---|---|---|---|
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Regulation (EC) No 1931/2006 |
19.1.2007 |
– |
OJ L 405, 31.12.2006 |
Related Acts
Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 1931/2006 as regards the inclusion of the Kaliningrad area and certain Polish administrative districts in the eligible border area [COM (2011) 461 final – Not published in the Official Journal].
Codecision procedure (2011/0199/COD)
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council of 9 February 2011 Second report on the implementation and functioning of the local border traffic regime set up by Regulation No 1931/2006 [COM(2011) 47 final – Not published in the Official Journal].
Four years after the creation of the local border traffic regime, four bilateral agreements have entered into force (Hungary/Ukraine, Slovakia/Ukraine, Poland/Ukraine and Romania/Moldova). Only the latter agreement is entirely compliant with Regulation No 1931/2006. Three other agreements shall enter into force in 2011 (Poland/Belarus, Lithuania/Belarus and Norway/Russia) and several draft agreements have been the subject of consultations with the Commission. The Commission considers that the regime is functioning efficiently, but requests that the agreements which do not comply with the Regulation are amended. The Commission confirms the conclusions of its first report which noted stricter conditions in the agreements than those provided for by the Regulation. Information provided by the Member States concerned shows that border traffic permit holders use the permits very frequently, for stays ranging from a few hours to two days. The main difficulties highlighted concern the definition of the border area, the requirement for travel medical insurance (not provided for by the Regulation), and the Kaliningrad region (a Russian enclave within the EU).
Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council of 24 July 2009 on the implementation and functioning of the local border traffic regime introduced by Regulation (EC) No 1931/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down rules on local border traffic at the external land borders of the Member States [COM(2009) 383 final – Not published in the Official Journal].
Since the adoption of the above Regulation, only the following bilateral local border traffic agreements have entered into force: Hungary/Ukraine, Slovakia/Ukraine and Poland/Ukraine. A few other Member States have consulted the Commission on the following agreements: Lithuania/Belarus, Lithuania/Russian Federation, Latvia/Russian Federation, Poland/Belarus, Bulgaria/Serbia, Bulgaria/Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Romania/Ukraine. Only one bilateral agreement existed before the adoption of the Regulation: Slovenia/Croatia. Consequently, it is still too early to evaluate the implementation and functioning of the local border traffic regime.
The Member States that have consulted the Commission have applied the facilitation measures provided by the Regulation to a varying extent, yet never in full and mostly with additional restrictions.