Dutch parliament debates Schengen agreement
01 January 1991
Dutch parliament debates Schengen agreement
artdoc April=1992
On 30 January the Dutch parliament debated the ratification of
the Schengen agreement. The debate was overshadowed by the
Christian Democrats (CDA, together with social democrats PvdA in
the coalition)attempt to press through a general mandatory
identification for all citizens upon request of any police
officer. They are now expected to settle on a compromise, with
only `risk groups' such as hooligans, fare dodgers, people in
unregistered work who dodge taxes) having to identify themselves.
MPs asked the cabinet to reopen discussions with the other
governments on ameliorating `Schengen' on democratic control,
citizens rights of appeal and privacy protection, but there is
little chance that the partners are willing to break the
agreements, which are now expected to come into practice in April
1993. Parliament did bargain for an important clause though, when
it demanded that any major move by the executing Schengen
Committee should be reported to Parliament at least two months
in advance, which would give it adequate time to react. MPs will
make the final decision on Schengen in June, and they are
expected to agree without enthusiasm. Meanwhile, the German
Bundestag has also given the green light on Schengen.
SIS to start in 1993
The Dutch Centrale Recherche Informatiedienst (CRI - Central
Criminal Intelligence) announced in late January that the
Schengen Information System (SIS) is expected to become
operational in all the participating countries on March 1, 1993.
The national SIS (NSIS) computers are called `national Sirene':
(Supplementary Information REquest at the National Entries). In
Holland, a team of 17 people is working continuously on the
development of NSIS, which is estimated at dfl 11.2 million.
Statewatch Vol 2 No 2 March/April 1992