Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-10-21-Speech-2-409"
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"en.20081021.41.2-409"2
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".
Mr President, in reply to Mr Evans, the Council actually places great importance on reinforcing controls on the external borders of the European Union, something that has again been emphasised this morning.
We do not want to construct a fortress Europe but we have to bear in mind that the Schengen area has been enlarged and that Schengen must function in a totally effective way, and that it is our common responsibility to combat cross-border crime and to ensure that illegality is completely deterred.
The Council has accordingly seen to it that better use is made of new technology in managing our external borders. The Commission has issued a wholly welcome communication entitled ‘Next steps in managing border controls in the European Union’, which seems to us to be an excellent proposal.
It is also essential that facilitating controls at border checkpoints, and I can reassure Mr Evans on this, does not bring into question the integrity and security of the Schengen area. Automated verification of travellers’ identity must not lead to a diminution in border security.
As you know, Regulation 2252/04 provides guarantees; this document establishes precise standards for biometric identifiers to be integrated into passports and travel documents issued by Member States. These provisions allow passports to become more secure and enable us to fight effectively against document falsification, by establishing a more reliable link between the document and its owner. The guarantees contained in this regulation must be strengthened and we must continue this initiative – that is the whole idea of the pact on immigration and asylum that President Sarkozy described at some length in the sitting this morning.
What matters is that we have the legal framework in place for action; what also matters, Mr Evans, is that we now have at the same time, through the pact, a common political will to ensure the security that is essential within the context of an enlarged area of freedom."@en1
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