Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-06-22-Speech-3-132"
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"en.20050622.16.3-132"2
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"Mr President, a fortnight or three weeks ago, we celebrated 20 years of the Schengen agreements. These agreements opened up a new dimension of Europe and put it in a new perspective. I believe that the regulation we are discussing this evening, which reflects an agreement at the first reading between Parliament and the Council, is a good signal to send 20 years after the conclusion of the Schengen agreements.
We have achieved an objective in this domain, an objective set for us by the Thessaloniki European Council on 19 and 20 June 2004. In other words, we have achieved this objective in something like record time, because the recasting undertaken in the framework of this regulation is designed, on the one hand, to remove obsolete provisions from the handbook and, on the other hand, to develop and clarify other provisions on the basis of an analysis of the everyday problems encountered on the ground at the external or internal borders of the Union.
The regulation, however, goes further than a mere makeover, because it establishes a veritable Community Code governing the movement of persons across borders, not only relating to the external borders of the Union but also, as I said, with a component on the internal borders, since these two aspects are undeniably complementary. Moreover, the regulation resolves the problem of the ambiguous legal basis of the handbook by creating a proper legal instrument containing all the basic principles and rules relating to borders.
The internal-border component reiterates the provisions of the Schengen Convention on the abolition of checks on persons at internal borders and on procedures for the temporary reintroduction of such checks in the event of a threat to public safety or to the internal security of a Member State. This regulation adapts these provisions to the institutional framework of the Community.
As far as the external borders are concerned, the basic principles governing checks at these borders as enshrined in the Schengen Convention and some parts of the common handbook have been more or less reproduced. The practicalities for the conduct of these checks are laid down in the annexes and are mostly subject, like the core provisions of the regulation, to the codecision procedure.
Work began on the Community Code on 2 July 2004 under the Dutch Presidency and has been vigorously pursued throughout the period of the Luxembourg Presidency. At the meeting of Coreper on 1 June, a general agreement was reached on the wording of the Code and then, on 13 June, the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs unanimously adopted the compromise amendments. The Community Code is the first instrument in the field of asylum, immigration, visas and borders to be subject to codecision with Parliament. For this reason, its adoption at the first reading is extremely important as a means of establishing, on the one hand, a relationship of mutual trust between Parliament and the Council and, on the other hand, a precedent that can only enhance the efficiency of future work on dossiers examined under the codecision procedure. It also demonstrates that codecision is by no means a hindrance to rapid progress but, on the contrary, serves to hasten progress and promote efficiency and, most importantly, that it takes place in a more strongly democratic context.
The Presidency wishes to thank Parliament, and especially your rapporteur, Mr Cashman, for having worked with the Presidency and the Council in a spirit of openness and transparency but also of mutual trust. This collaboration has served to establish compromises which all three institutions can now endorse. It is, in fact, thanks to the amendments tabled by Parliament that the Community Border Code guarantees more transparency and greater protection for citizens of the European Union and of non-EU countries.
I believe there has been much talk of crisis today, of a European Union in crisis. We undoubtedly have considerable difficulties, huge difficulties, but I believe that the act we are discussing this evening in preparation for its adoption at first reading tomorrow shows that the European Union is capable of taking decisions, of making progress in the interests of the people and above all, as I indicated before, of progressing democratically with parliamentary support. I believe that is the crux of the matter because, in a field that concerns people first and foremost, codecision has finally been given its place, thanks to today’s application of the Treaty of Amsterdam.
The Presidency also wishes to thank the Commission for its efforts and for its input, throughout the legislative process, of valuable technical knowledge without which the Code would never have seen the light of day. I therefore believe that this is a good evening for Europe. We are poised to adopt an important instrument. On behalf of the Presidency, I thank Parliament and the Commission for their collaboration."@en1
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