EC Convention on external borders (1)
01 January 1991
EC Convention on external borders
artdoc October=1991
The twelve EC states reached agreement in July on a Convention
on external borders, harmonising visa controls throughout the EC.
Although the Convention has not been signed yet, owing to an
unresolved dispute between Britain and Spain over Gibraltar,
European states are expected to adopt its measures informally in
practice pending signature, probably in the autumn. Although it
has not been published, reports indicate that it follows the
Schengen Convention (of which France, Germany, Belgium,
Netherlands, Luxembourg, Italy, Portugal and Spain are
signatories) in mutual recognition of visas issued by any EC
country, a common list of countries whose nationals will require
visas, and exchange of information and centralised lists of
`undesirables' to whom entry should be refused. As expected, the
Convention limits the freedom of movement of non-EC nationals
living in Europe to holidays in other EC countries without a
visa; they will not be able to work in any country other than
that in which they are settled.
Home Office ministers see the Convention as a victory for the
British view that internal borders should not be discussed.
Britain refuses to sign the Schengen agreement since this
abolishes internal frontiers between signatory states, which
Britain argues would be a breach of its sovereign right to
control its own borders.
The justification for the treatment of policing and immigration
issues on an intergovernmental level, rather than through EC
legislation, has been that this preserves the sovereignty of each
state, and that national parliaments will be able to scrutinise
any agreements reached. But the Home Secretary and his
Immigration Minister refused to publish minutes of the meetings
making these decisions. On 3 June 1991, in response to
parliamentary questions, Peter Lloyd, Home Office Minister of
State, refused to put in the House of Commons Library minutes of
the Ad Hoc Group on Immigration, and immediately afterwards
Kenneth Baker gave the same response in relation to minutes of
the Trevi group of ministers. Ministers would continue the
practice of answering a planned written question setting out the
main conclusions of the meetings.
(Hansard 3.6.91 col. 77)
Statewatch no 4 September/October 1991