24 Visa Information System
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6373/04
COM(04) 99
| Draft Council Decision establishing a Visa Information System (VIS)
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| Legal base | Article 66 EC; consultation; unanimity
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| Document originated | 12 February 2004
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| Deposited in Parliament | 19 February 2004
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| Department | Home Office |
| Basis of consideration | EM of 2 March 2004
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| Previous Committee Report | None
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| To be discussed in Council | 30 March 2004
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Cleared, but further information requested
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Background
24.1 Since 2001, the European Council and the Council of Ministers
have repeatedly voiced their support for the creation of a network
for the exchange of information between Member States about visas.
In 2003, the Commission reported the results of its feasibility
study of a Visa Information System (VIS) and, in June 2003, the
Thessaloniki European Council concluded that "orientations
should be determined as soon as possible…with regard to the
planning for the development of the system, the appropriate legal
basis which will permit its establishment and the engagement of
the necessary financial means, while respecting the financial
perspectives".[46]
24.2 Article 66 of the EC Treaty requires the Council
to take measures to ensure cooperation, for the purposes of Title
IV of the Treaty, between Member States and between them and the
Commission.
24.3 Most Member States have abolished checks at
their internal borders to create what is known as the "Schengen
area". There is a body of agreements, known as "the
Schengen acquis", between the States which participate in
the arrangement. The UK is not part of the Schengen area but
it may apply to participate in some of the provisions of the acquis.
24.4 A Protocol to the EC Treaty provides that the
UK shall not take part in or be bound by measures adopted by the
Council under Title IV (visas, asylum, immigration and other policies
related to free movement of people) of the Treaty unless the UK
gives notice that it wishes to take part in a proposal ("to
opt in").
The document
24.5 The objectives of the VIS are to:
- combat fraudulent visa applications;
- help improve consular cooperation;
- facilitate checks that the holder and carrier
of a visa are the same person;
- help prevent "visa shopping";
- facilitate application of the Dublin Convention
determining the State responsible for examining applications for
asylum;
- help identify undocumented illegal immigrants;
and
- help improve internal security and action to
counter terrorism.
24.6 Two Council Decisions will be required to bring
the VIS into effect. The first of them is this proposal to provide
a legal base for the VIS and authorise expenditure between 2004
and the end of 2006 on the technical development of the system.
The second draft Decision is still being prepared; it will define
the data that may be entered on the VIS, the purposes for which
they may be used, rights of access, and data protection requirements.
24.7 The draft Decision before us for scrutiny formally
establishes the VIS for the exchange of visa data between participating
States. It also provides that the VIS is to comprise a central
information system, an interface in each participating State and
a means of communication between the two. The Commission is to
be responsible for developing the VIS and each participating State
for developing its own infrastructure. The Commission is to make
a yearly progress report. The total commitment to the development
of the VIS by the Commission between 2004 and 2006 is to be €30
million (€5 million in 2004, €11 million in 2005 and
€14 million in 2006). The expenditure is to be charged against
the Commission's budget. Participating States will meet the cost
of developing their national systems. Biometric information (such
as fingerprints) will not be incorporated into this phase of the
development of the VIS.
The Government's view
24.8 The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at
the Home Office (Caroline Flint) tells us that:
"The benefits to the EU of a common European
Visa Information System with biometrics, when introduced in 2007,
are considerable. We believe it would contribute to the EU's
broader asylum and immigration objectives including preventing
'visa shopping', facilitating the application of the Dublin Convention
and contributing towards improved security and combating terrorism.
These would enhance the wider EU's capabilities for effective
border control.
"We believe that this proposal is a positive
first step towards that objective, and that the UK has much to
offer other Member States in the reciprocal exchange of visa information.
It is in the interests of all Member States to have available
the visa history of someone who has applied to enter another Member
State irrespective of where they sought to enter. We are therefore
exploring with the Commission the possibility of the interoperability
between UK systems and the VIS."
24.9 The Government has not yet decided whether to
opt into the proposal.
Conclusion
24.10 We are grateful to the Minister for her
helpful Explanatory Memorandum. The purpose of the draft Decision
is clear: to provide the necessary legal base and financial authority
for the next phase of the development of the VIS. We have concluded
that the proposal raises no issues of subsidiarity or proportionality
and that the legal base proposed for the Decision is appropriate.
Accordingly, we clear the document, but we ask the Minister to
tell us the decision the Government reaches about whether to opt
into the proposal.
46 Point 11 of the Conclusions of the Thessaloniki
European Council. Back
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