Select Committee on European Scrutiny Seventh Report


10 UK participation in the Schengen acquis

(20460)

11177/99

Draft Council Decision on the request by the United Kingdom to take part in some of the provisions of the Schengen acquis

Legal baseArticle 4 of the Protocol integrating the Schengen acquis into the framework of the EU; — ; unanimity of participating States
DepartmentHome Office
Basis of considerationMinister's letter of 27 January 2005
Previous Committee ReportHC 23-ii (1999-2000), para 13 (1 December 1999) and HC 23-xviii (1999-2000), para 11 (17 May 2000)
Committee's assessmentPolitically important
Committee's decisionCleared (decision reported 1 December 1999)

Background

10.1 In 1997, the Treaty of Amsterdam added a Protocol to the EU and the EC Treaties integrating the Schengen acquis into the framework of the Union and the Community. The Schengen acquis is the agreements between the participating States on the removal of controls at their internal borders, the strengthening of controls at their external borders, and supporting measures. The United Kingdom is not bound by the acquis, but Article 4 of the Protocol provides that it may at any time apply to take part in some or all of the provisions of the acquis. Any such request is subject to the unanimous agreement of the participating Member States and the United Kingdom. The current participating States are the countries (with the exception of the United Kingdom and Ireland) which were Members of the EU before 1 May 2004, plus Iceland and Norway.

Scrutiny history

10.2 In 1999, the United Kingdom applied to take part in the provisions of the Schengen acquis on:

  • police cooperation;
  • judicial cooperation;
  • trafficking in human beings and illicit drugs;
  • the Schengen Information System; and
  • the protection of personal data.

But the United Kingdom would retain control of its own borders and would not be bound by the Schengen provisions on border controls and visas.

10.3 The participating States agreed the United Kingdom's application. After detailed scrutiny of the consequent draft Council Decision, a previous Committee cleared the proposal.[32]

10.4 In May 2000, the Council formally adopted the Decision.[33] But the Decision could not come into effect until the United Kingdom had passed legislation to implement all the acquis in which it had applied to participate and there had been an evaluation of the United Kingdom's police and judicial authorities.

The Minister's letter of 27 January 2005

10.5 The Minister tells us that:

  • the Crime (International Cooperation) Act 2003 provides the necessary legislative base for implementation of the acquis;
  • the evaluation of the police and judicial authorities has been completed successfully; and
  • the Council adopted a Decision in December 2004 to bring the Decision of May 2000 into effect from 1 January 2005.

10.6 The Minister also tells us that, due to an oversight, the draft of the Council Decision of December 2004 was not deposited for scrutiny. She says that she takes very seriously her responsibilities to Parliament for the scrutiny of EU documents and she apologises for the lapse in this case. She has asked her Department to make arrangements to ensure that a similar mistake is not made in future.

Conclusion

10.7 A previous Committee cleared the Decision of May 2000 containing the substantive provisions for the application to the United Kingdom of the Schengen acquis which do not relate to visas and the control of the borders of the United Kingdom. The function of the Decision of December 2004 was to bring the earlier Decision into effect from 1 January 2005. Because of the importance of the acquis concerned, we draw the attention of the House to the commencement of the provisions.

10.8 Clearly, the draft of the Decision of 2004 should have been deposited for scrutiny in the proper way. We take a serious view of any breach of the scrutiny requirements. In this case, however, we are satisfied that the breach has not deprived the House of adequate opportunities to scrutinise the substance of the application of the Schengen acquis to this country, bearing in mind the previous Committee's scrutiny of the proposal for the Decision of May 2000 and Parliament's detailed consideration of the Crime (International Cooperation) Act 2003. We accept the Minister's apology for the breach of the scrutiny requirements and we look to her to ensure that there is no repetition of the error by her Department.


32   See headnote. Back

33   Council Decision 2000/365/EC: OJ No. L 131, 1.6.2000, p.43. Back


 
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