TNAG-2950-FCO40-4227-Hong-Kong-visa-free-travel-for-British-Nationals-(Overseas)--1993 — Page 63

EUROPEAN COMMUNITY

External Frontiers Convention

1. The External Frontiers Convention (EFC) provides for the

mutual recognition by EC Member States of specified national visas pending the introduction of a common "uniform" visa.

the substance of the EFC was agreed in June 1991 but it

remains unsigned because of a dispute with Spain over its application to Gibraltar. It is difficult to predict when

this obstacle may be overcome.

Schengen

The

2. Nine EC Member States (not including the UK, Ireland or

Denmark) have signed the Schengen Convention which largely mirrors the EFC but which also specifically abolishes internal

frontier checks between the nine participating states.

Schengens say that their Convention will be in operation

during the second half of this year but there could yet be

further delays as not all signatories have ratified the

Convention.

EC Common List of Visa National Countries

3. EC Ministers agreed a common list of visa national

countries in 1988 (the UK has, of course, visa regimes on all

71 countries currently on this common list and additionally on

a further five countries on an individual national basis). A

paper was tabled during the Portuguese EC Presidency urging the UK to introduce visa regimes on a further 38 countries

(many of these are in the Commonwealth but none are Dependent Territories). The UK has resisted, arguing that visa regimes

should only be introduced for security and for immigration reasons. The Schengen group have also adopted a common visa

list of about 120 countries (to the best of our knowledge no

Dependent Territories are currently being considered for

inclusion).