Don’t forget about the young Europeans who still remain behind the visa curtain and join the JEF no-visa week from 27 September to 3 October 2010!

What are some of the results of the Action?

- Increased awareness among young people within and outside of the EU about the obstacles that young Europeans outside of the Schengen zone are facing when they would like to travel to any of the EU countries.

- A new Press Release issued on 5 October "Tear down the visa wall for Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina!" calling on the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers to give their green light when deciding about the issue on 7 October and 7-8 November respectively. 

- In the framework of the Balkan Training Days 2010, the Tirana Western Balkan Youth Forum Declaration (in Albanian and English) was adopted in the presence of Albania's Minister of Internal Affairs.

- A meeting with the Prime Minister of Albania was organised thanks to JEF Albania. Visit also the website of the prime minister's office: http://www.keshilliministrave.al/?fq=brenda&m=news&lid=13785.

- Wide coverage on television, radio and in written press:

- http://www.tvklan.tv/lajmi.php?id=13087
- http://www.top-channel.tv/artikull.php?id=193997
- http://www.rtsh.al/?fq=lajme&ltip=Vendi&gj=gj1&kid=69
- http://www.sot.com.al/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33875%3Aberisha-takim-me-federalistet-evropiane-vendi-ka-ecur-perpara&catid=34%3Apolitike&Itemid=60
- http://www.kohajone.com/zarticle.php?id=56856
- http://www.standard.al/ 
- http://www.standard.al/index.php/abi/12476.html

What was the Action all about?

JEF organises its annual No-Visa Action this week to raise awareness about the obstacles that visas bring about and call for the unification of the European continent through the abolishment of national borders for all Europeans.

While the governments of the countries in question need to do their utmost to fulfill the necessary technical criteria, it is on the EU institutions to assist them in meeting these criteria and meanwhile lessen the costs and administrative burden of the visa application procedure.

The liberalisation of visa is essential to enhance regional stability and integration and foster economic and social prosperity on the one hand and improve the business climate and educational exchanges on the other.

How one could get involved in the action!

- Take a look at JEF-Europe's Press Release that was sent out to the media, EU institutions and partner organisations in Brussels. Feel free to further distribute it and share it with your friends via social media. Sections are invited to translate the PR and to use it to do lobbying with their local politicians and authorities.

- Download our Flyer which you can use during any action or event.

- Support the action and join the Facebook event
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=102882963108053

- Visit our on-line magazine www.thenewfederalist.eu  for different articles about the visa isse.

- Also on Facebook, in order to put your VISA image on your profile picture please click on: http://maalej.com/jef/visa.php, change your country, save the picture and upload it to facebook! (For info, if you come from an EU-country, Daniela from Moldova will automatically appear below your picture and if you are from a non-EU country, Karim-Pierre from France will automatically appear below your picture, this was made for copy right reasons).

Background information:

VISA. A visa is an indicator that a person is authorised to enter the! "Country" country!which "issued" the visa, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorisation may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's "Passport" passport. The country issuing the visa typically attaches various conditions to the visa, such as the duration of validity, the period that the person may stay in the country, whether the visa is valid for more than one visit, payment of a certain sum, etc.

EU VISA POLICY. Whereas the citizens of Serbia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Montenegro are able to travel to the EU without visa since 19 December 2009, for thousands of citizens coming from EU partner countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Republic of Moldova, Ukraine and Turkey) the visa regime is still a serious impediment for participation in international events: business exhibitions, cultural and sportive visits, international seminars or conferences, travelling and family meetings, studies and trainings. They can spend days or weeks waiting for the visa. In the absence of a country’s embassy on their territory (e.g. no Belgian embassy in Moldova, no Spanish embassy in Albania…) people often have to apply for visa in a neighboring country and spend hours and money travelling.

SOLIDARITY. The European Commission proposed in December!2008 concrete steps towards visa-free travel in the framework of the Eastern Partnership, namely the revision of existing visa facilitation agreements as well as ‘roadmaps’ leading to a visa waiver. In the Joint Declaration of the Prague Eastern Partnership Summit of 7!May 2009, the EU commits to gradual steps towards visa liberalisation as a long term goal for individual partner countries provided that conditions for well-managed and secure mobility are in place. In this context, EU citizens’ support for the cause of visa liberalisation is a requirement for the European continent to develop as a free, democratic and multicultural space.

PARTNERSHIP MOBILITY. As important partners of the EU, the countries that already signed special agreements on the facilitation of the visa regime (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina) play an important role for the development of their region’s stability and welfare. The partner countries successfully implement European values, standards and EU recommendations to ensure the security and conformity with the law of each citizen who will travel without a visa. Thus, mobility is an important factor in order to further develop partnerships on the economic, commercial, judicial, migration and social level. That is why for the EU and for partner countries it is a priority to implement strong policies leading to the liberalisation of the visa regime in the partner countries. The visa-free regime will be a key for more transparency, trust and cooperation!between EU member states and their non-EU neighbours.

FREE MOVEMENT APPROACH. The exclusion of Western Balkan and Eastern European countries from the new non visa practice of the EU would be a negative message towards the region. Today, visa are not as much an instrument of security and protection of the EU countries, than an impediment in establishing human relationships, exchange of experience and communication. The international community has always defended the sustainability of multiethnic and multi-religious states in the Western Balkans and Eastern Europe based on the values of democracy, tolerance and multiculturalism. Now it is time to support those countries to ensure free movement for their citizens.

MORE COOPERATION. Lifting of border controls at the land border is accompanied by closer cooperation between the law enforcement agencies in the border area.! The police services have already achieved a good level of cooperation in border regions, since the enlargement of the European Union in May 2004.! This high level of police cooperation - as well as a high level of external border control - was evaluated positively during the evaluation missions in 2006-2007.! There will not be a security deficit by liberalising visa in the above-mentioned countries, but the contrary; security will be enhanced, as police forces on both sides of the borders will access the same Schengen Information System.

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