Brussels, 31/08/2015 (Agence Europe) - Meeting in Paris on Saturday 29 August to learn lessons from the failed terrorist attack on a high-speed Thalys train from Amsterdam to Paris, the transport and home office ministers of nine European countries repeated their call on the European Commission to amend the Schengen Border Code to allow permanent controls of passengers “where necessary” who have come to the EU from non-EU countries.
The ministers also called on the Commission to unveil in 2016 tighter firearms legislation and on the European Parliament to speed up agreement on a European PNR system (passengers' name records). These requests are found in the conclusions document for a European Summit on 12 February 2015 on terrorist attacks in France and Denmark and the dismantling of a planned attack in Belgium.
In the shorter-term, the French, Belgian, German, British, Dutch, Swiss, Italian, Spanish and Luxembourg ministers agreed on a range of measures to boost security on trains. French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve announced at a press conference that a plan would be studied to have named tickets for international trains and for trains to be patrolled by multinational teams with spot luggage controls (see related article).
Different approaches to Schengen
The ministers recalled attachment to the Schengen Area rules and free circulation, noting that they were prepared to use all the tools provided by the Schengen Information System (SIS) to boost passenger safety. In a common statement, they said that the principles of the Schengen Area, which some of the countries represented at the meeting belong to, were set up to ensure the right to free circulation for European citizens, along with a high level of security though police and justice cooperation tolls established within the European Union. They said they were determined to make full use of these tools and to intensify exchanges of information among their departments using the options provided by the Schengen Information System.
The ministers said they would continue, as they had agreed in principle in February following terror attacks in Paris and Copenhagen, to make systematic controls of travellers crossing external borders, using risk criteria drawn up by the European Commission and finalised before the summer break. The ministers said, however, that they would wait for the Commission to examine draft legislation to amend the Schengen Border Code to allow “permanent controls” of external borders in the Schengen Area where necessary. The Commission refused earlier in the year to comply with this request (made by the 12 February European Summit) on the grounds that this could lead to undesirable consequences of a practical nature for the member states.
The minister invited the Commission, in line with the European Council statement of 12 February 2015, to examine targeted changes to the Schengen Border Code to allow permanent controls only when necessary, adding that technical solutions would be sought to ensure smooth circulation at border crossing points.
On Saturday, EU Home Affairs Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said that the Schengen rules allowed all necessary measures to be taken to ensure the security of citizens without damaging their freedom of movement. They should be used though better cooperation based on indicators or a manual drawn up by the Commission, he added, seeming prepared to again reject the ministers' demand to change the Code.
On Saturday, the ministers urged the European Parliament to finalise talks on the European PNR programme that would allow airlines to collect personal details about air passengers from or to non-EU countries that would then be analysed by the police and exchanged among EU28 nations. The EP's civil liberties committee accepted the principles of the European PNR programme on 15 July 2015, when adopting a report by Timothy Kirkhope (ECR, United Kingdom, see EUROPE 11350). The text is now at the inter-institutional negotiations stage. There are a number of points on which the Council of Ministers and the EP disagree, such as whether or not to include passenger details for flights within the EU.
The ministers agreed on 29 August to symmetrically introduce into SIS the name of people suspected of being jihadists, a gap that was detected at the time of the French and Danish terror attacks. The Commission says that a European Counter-Terror Charter announced on 28 April will be rapidly drawn up to bring together forces and units covered by Europol in order to boost analysis and the exchange of information, and to boost coordination among national competent authorities. The first European Forum will be held on 2 December with internet service providers on working together to tackle terrorism.
Finally, the minsters pointed out that they are determined, under EU law and bilateral agreements, to remove and send back foreigners who are a threat to public order and to European citizens. (Solenn Paulic)