Source Documents/Schengen Convention

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Abolition of internal borders and creation of a single EU external frontier

The practicalities of free movement within an area without internal border controls were first set out by the Schengen Agreement in 1985 and the subsequent Schengen Convention in 1995 that abolished controls on internal borders between the signatory countries. The Amsterdam Treaty on the European Union, which came into force on the 1 May 1999, incorporated the set of measures adopted under the Schengen umbrella into the Unions legal and institutional framework. These measures are now fully accepted by 13 EU Member States (with the exception of the United Kingdom and Ireland), as well as other countries external to the Union (Norway and Iceland). New applicants to the Union will have to fulfil these same requirements. The Schengen principles of free circulation of people are backed by improved and still developing security measures to ensure that the EUs internal security is not threatened.


Description

Although movement was already enshrined in the EEC Treaty, not all the Member States went as far as abolishing internal border checks. The effective application of free movement was given a boost in 1985 when Germany, France and the Benelux countries (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg) signed an inter-governmental agreement on this issue of gradually abolishing internal border checks, in the small Luxembourg border town of Schengen. The Schengen Agreement was followed in 1990 by the Schengen Convention, which finally came into force in March 1995. By that time, other EU Member States (Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece) had joined the initial signatories of this inter-governmental agreement signed outside the EU framework.

The Schengen Convention abolished the checks at internal borders of the signatory States and created a single external frontier, where checks for all the Schengen signatories were to be carried out in accordance with a common set of rules.

The Schengen Convention is designed to take into account the interests of all the States that have signed up to it. Accordingly, this freedom of movement without being submitted to checks at internal borders was accompanied by so-called compensatory measures. These measures involve setting a common visa regime, improving coordination between the police, customs and the judiciary and taking additional steps to combat problems such as terrorism and organised crime.

The Schengen signatories agreed that each country could only reintroduce controls on their mutual borders in certain well-specified circumstances.

The harmonised EU external border controls are defined in Article 6 of the Schengen Convention. They are further specified in the common manual on external borders, a set of operational instructions on the conditions for entering the territory of the signatories States and detailed procedures and rules for carrying out checks. A complex information system known as the Schengen information system (SIS) was set up to exchange data on certain categories of people and lost or stolen goods.

The Schengen Convention, however, did not aim at regulating the right to long-term residence and work, neither for EU citizens nor for third-country nationals.

The right of every European citizen to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States is enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU, adopted in December 2000. The charter also states that these rights 'may' be granted to third-country nationals.


Members

As of March 2001, 13 EU Member States are signed up to the Schengen Agreement. They are Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Finland and Sweden.

Ireland and the United Kingdom never signed up to the Schengen Convention and have thus not ended border controls with other EU Member States, although they will participate, in the future, in those aspects of Schengen that entail cooperation between police forces and the judiciary. For this reason, EU citizens, as well as third-country nationals, still have to show their passports when travelling between the UK or Ireland and the rest of the EU (although not between Ireland and the UK, which together with the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man constitute a common travel area for which passports are not needed).

Although Denmark has signed the Schengen Agreement, it can choose within the EU framework whether or not to apply any new decision taken under the agreement. In addition, an association agreement has been concluded with Iceland and Norway , two countries which apply the Schengen provisions completely. In July 2002, negotiations began in view of associating Switzerland, which wants to participate in the Schengen acquis.


How does the Schengen Convention fit into the EUs legal and institutional framework?

A protocol attached to the Treaty of Amsterdam incorporates the developments brought about by Schengen into the European Unions legal and institutional framework. The Schengen area now comes under the scrutiny of the European Parliament and of the Court of Justice of the European Communities, ensuring democratic parliamentary control and giving citizens accessible legal remedies when their rights are challenged (Court of Justice and/or national courts depending on the area of law), although the competence of the Court of Justice in this area is partially limited.

One of the Councils most important tasks in incorporating the Schengen provisions was to determine which measures taken by the signatory states formed a genuine acquis , i.e. a body of law which has to be applied by all Member States applying the Schengen provisions and which countries seeking EU membership must adopt into their own national legislation. A list of the elements which make up the acquis , setting out the corresponding legal basis for each in the Treaties (EC Treaty or the Treaty on European Union) was adopted on 20 May 1999 .


How does the EU maintain its internal security?

The Schengen Convention, now integrated in the EU framework, includes a detailed series of measures designed to compensate for a lack of internal border controls by reinforcing security at the Union's external frontiers. Key among these measures is the requirement that Member States with an external EU frontier have a responsibility to ensure that proper checks and effective surveillance are carried out at the EU's external frontiers. Once a person is inside the Schengen area, he or she is free to move around wherever he or she wants for a short time period. It is therefore vital that checks and controls at the EU's external frontiers be rigorous enough to stop illegal immigration, drug smuggling and other unlawful activities.

Schengen also provides for better cooperation and coordination between police services and judicial authorities as an aid to Member States' internal security, and in particular to fight effectively against organised crime. This is the context for the creation of the Schengen information system (SIS). The SIS is a complex database that enables the law-enforcement, judicial and consular authorities of EU Member States to exchange data on certain categories of persons and on lost or stolen goods.


Who does what?

The European Commission shares the right to initiate proposals with Member States in this area. This means that the Commission is partly responsible for proposing policies and actions, as well as implementing and executing them.

What accompanying measures have been taken?

Beyond recognising freedom of movement as a fundamental right, the EU has taken several accompanying measures in order to facilitate its implementation, including:

  • simplified formalities for EU nationals;
  • harmonised entry conditions for non EU nationals;
  • harmonised visa policy;
  • improved documents security.

On the security perspective, a new image archiving system called FADO is to be set up, allowing EU Member States to exchange information on EU official documents and help detect any papers that may be counterfeit.


What is the Schengen acquis?

The Schengen acquis is the set of rules adopted under the Schengen Convention, which includes: the convention itself and the 1985 agreement; the accession protocols with Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Austria, Denmark, Finland and Sweden; and the decisions and declarations adopted by the Schengen bodies.

It is now part of the EU institutional and legal framework and countries applying to join the EU will have to fulfil its requirements. Amongst the key rules adopted by Schengen group members are:

  • removal of checks on persons at common EU internal borders;
  • common set of rules applying to people crossing EU external frontiers, regardless of the EU country in which that external frontier is situated;
  • separation at air terminals and, where possible, at seaports of people travelling within the Schengen area from those arriving from countries outside the Schengen area;
  • harmonisation of the rules regarding conditions of entry and visas for short stays;
  • coordination between administrations on surveillance of borders (liaison officers, harmonisation of instructions and staff training);
  • definition of the role of carriers in the fight against illegal immigration;
  • enhanced police cooperation (including the rights of cross-border surveillance and hot pursuit);
  • strengthening of judicial cooperation through a faster extradition system and transfer of the enforcement of criminal judgments;
  • creation of the Schengen information system (SIS).


What is the Schengen information system (SIS)?

The Schengen information system (SIS) was set up to allow police forces and consular agents from the Schengen countries to access data on specific individuals (i.e. criminals wanted for arrest or extradition, missing persons, third-country nationals to be refused entry, etc.) and on goods which have been lost or stolen. These data are supplied by the Member States via national sections (N-SIS) that are connected to a central technical function (C-SIS).

The data related to persons may include data on:

  • persons wanted for arrest for extradition purposes;
  • aliens for whom an alert has been issued for the purposes of refusing entry;
  • missing persons or on persons needing temporary police protection (minors, in particular);
  • witnesses and persons summoned to appear before judicial authorities;
  • persons to be submitted to discreet surveillance or specific checks for the purposes of prosecuting criminal offences or for the prevention of threats to public security.

The SIS is supplemented by a network known as Sirene (supplementary information request at the national entry) Phase II, which allows communication between the Sirene offices in every Schengen State. The Sirene offices are the intermediaries between the national authorities responsible for the data on the SIS (judges, police, alien offices). The Sirene Phase II network is being replaced by the Sisnet network. Sisnet will be used to communicate between C-SIS and N-SIS. Since August 2001, it is also used for communication between Sirene and Vision.


Source: European Commission.

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