Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-10-13-Speech-3-125"
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"en.20041013.6.3-125"2
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"I should like to thank you, Mr President, for protecting Members’ rights.
Mr President, the Member States that joined the European Union in 2004 were the first to have to meet demanding requirements with regard to the protection of external borders, and in the course of accession negotiations the European Commission gave a very positive assessment of their efforts. Since 1 May 2004, these ten countries have participated in cooperation measures under the Schengen Agreement, yet a fundamental obstacle to their equal participation in such joint measures is lack of access to the Schengen Information System. This hampers reciprocal implementation of the commitments entered into under the Treaty with regard to legal assistance in criminal matters, such as the European arrest warrant, police cooperation and a common immigration policy. Consequently, for example, the new Member States are prevented from issuing uniform Schengen lists, and, most importantly, the time period during which checks must be carried out at the EU’s internal borders has been greatly prolonged. This problem is viewed in a negative light by the majority of citizens of Poland and of the other new Member States. It is difficult for them to understand why the pre-accession strategy, which the EU and the candidate countries took nearly ten years to implement, could not have ensured that the information system was ready to accept additional users on 1 January 2004.
In 2003, the European Commission and the Member States set a date of late 2006 for completion of the second-generation Schengen Information System. Currently, however, the estimated date is given as 1 May 2007. I believe the Commission and the Council should keep to the original deadline of 31 December 2006 as the date when the second-generation Schengen Information System must be ready for operation. Integration of the new Member States’ IT systems and transfer of data from the old system to the new system must also be completed by that date. The European Commission should make available to the Council the report containing positive evaluations and assessments by EU experts based on objective indicators of the situation at the eastern external border. I regret to say that press reports still uphold the stereotype and myth that the new Member States do not provide satisfactory protection of the EU’s common borders. I believe dissemination of appropriate information by the Commission would not only encourage recognition of the efforts made by the new Member States, but also help to ensure their positive impact was appreciated. During a hearing before our committee, Professor Buttiglione gave a very positive assessment of the state of preparedness for implementation of the second-generation Schengen Information System at the European Union’s eastern border. At the same time he committed himself to accelerating operational measures in this field. I hope that, in planning the future of the area of freedom, the Commission and the Council will rise to the challenge of ensuring that freedom of movement for European citizens, one of the EU’s fundamental freedoms, is implemented as rapidly as possible without discrimination. This would be the fastest way of achieving the highest possible level of security. It would also enable us to combat terrorism more effectively. I thank you."@en1
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