EU: Background to Schengen Agreement
01 January 1991
EU: Background to Schengen Agreement
bacdoc July=1995
Taken from the handbook: "Statewatching the new Europe",
published in November, 1993.
Schengen
In July 1984 France and Germany signed an agreement in
Saarbrucken to lift many of the existing frontier control and in
the October the Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands countries
joined the agreement. When it became clear at meetings of the
Council of Ministers that there was little chance of a EC-wide
agreement on internal border controls the five countries signed
that Schengen Agreement in June 1985.
The aim of Schengen I, 1985, was the abolition of border
controls between member states by 1990. It set up working groups
to deal with `compensatory measures' in policing and security
(narcotics, arms, border controls and security, information
exchange, threats to public order and state security); movement
of people (asylum, border controls, visa controls, exchange of
information, a common deportation fund); transport (including
lists of passengers carried across borders); and customs and
circulation of goods. The working groups drafted further detailed
measures which were agreed in the Schengen Supplementary
Agreement in June 1990. Italy joined in November 1990, Portugal
and Spain in June 1991 and Greece in 1992.
Schengen I was an administrative agreement requiring no
parliamentary involvement. Frontier policing checks were
initially reduced to visual inspections and spot checks. It was
agreed to `harmonise' policy on visas, co-ordinate crime
prevention and search operations, in particular in connection
with narcotics and laws governing their use, arms and explosives
trade, and the registration of hotel guests (the West German
Lander, which have jurisdiction for law on police matters, were
excluded from this process as were the parliaments).
The Schengen Agreement (Schengen II), agreed by the
governments in 1990, has been subject to parliamentary
ratification in each country. It is now not expected that this
process will be completed until the end of 1993.
The effect of the Schengen Agreement extends the powers of
police forces and internal security agencies. Powers given to
chase after a fleeing subject marks a first step towards legally
sanctioning police and law enforcement activity on foreign
sovereign territory (Schengen II, Arts.40 and 47). What is
notable is that permission to operate on foreign territory is to
extend to undercover work, using such means as observation across
frontiers, infiltration of drug rings, or the introduction of
Europe-wide police surveillance(secret recording of movements,
specific checks) (Schengen II, Arts. 41,75, and 100). Another
clause of the Treaty deals with the need for mutual assistance
between the national intelligence agencies in the interests of
national state security (Schengen II, Art.48). This article was
added to the treaty at the very last minute in November 1989.
The operation of the Schengen Agreement comes under an
`Executive Committee' of Ministers with the day-to-day operations
being run by the Central Negotiating Group (CNG). Under the CNG
there are a number of working parties, with sub-groups,
including: Working Group 1: Police and Security: weapons,
telecommunications, and legal experts; Working Group 2: Movement
of persons: common manual, asylum, visas, and readmissions. There
are also working groups on drug trafficking and Treaties, and a
Committee on external borders.
Schengen Information System (SIS)
The Schengen Information System (SIS) is a computerised
information exchange system based in Strasbourg. It is planned
to come into operation in December 1993.
The creation of the SIS is set out in Articles 92-119. All
the Contracting Parties (as the member countries are called) will
have access to reports on `persons and objects' through an
automated search procedure. Each country will set up and maintain
a `natio