
Article 1 
The regions where the collection and transmission of data to the Visa Information System (VIS) shall start according to Article 48(1)(c) and (3) of Regulation (EC) No 767/2008 are the following:

— The first region:
 Algeria,
 Egypt,
 Libya,
 Mauritania,
 Morocco,
 Tunisia.
— The second region:
 Israel,
 Jordan,
 the Lebanon,
 Syria.
— The third region:
 Afghanistan,
 Bahrain,
 Iran,
 Iraq,
 Kuwait,
 Oman,
 Qatar,
 Saudi Arabia,
 United Arab Emirates,
 Yemen.
Article 2 
External border crossing points, as defined by Regulation (EC) No 562/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2006 establishing a Community Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders (Schengen Borders Code), constitute a separate region. For visa applications lodged at the external borders, the collection and transmission of the data to the VIS shall start according to Article 48(3) of Regulation (EC) No 767/2008.
Article 3 
This Decision is addressed to the Kingdom of Belgium, the Republic of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic of Estonia, the Hellenic Republic, the Kingdom of Spain, the French Republic, the Italian Republic, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Poland, the Portuguese Republic, Romania, the Republic of Slovenia, the Slovak Republic, the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden.
Done at Brussels, 30 November 2009.
For the Commission
Jacques BARROT
Vice-President