Inter-institutional negotiations on the proposal for a centralised information system on convictions of third-country nationals (ECRIS-TCN) will resume on Tuesday 11 December in Strasbourg. Conclusive trilogue, new deadlock or premature death of the proposal? At this point, no one really knows.
It’s been almost a year since the negotiations started and the same question keeps coming up: should EU nationals who also hold the nationality of a third country (dual nationals) be included in the system or not?
Originally very technical, the issue has become highly political. On the side of the Council and the European Commission, the aim is to "close the gaps" in the current system and prevent an EU national from being able to "hide" behind another nationality of a third country.
The European Parliament was staunchly opposed to it, because it believed that it would create discrimination between European citizens. But the last trilogue meeting was somewhat overwhelming (see EUROPE 12142), with Parliament rapporteur Daniel Dalton (ECR, UK) deciding to move forward in the Council's direction without the support of the S&D, ALDE, Greens/EFA and GUE/NGL groups.
On Thursday 6 December, a diplomatic source explained to EUROPE why the inclusion of dual nationals in the system is necessary and why the Council will continue to fight in this direction.
The argument put forward is above all the safety of citizens, which should be a priority for the two co-legislators, this source stresses.
But there are also legal arguments. To set an appropriate sentence, a judge needs to have a complete overview of the person's criminal history. But first one needs to be able to access it, argues this source.
Their inclusion is also necessary in view of the principle of ne bis in idem, according to which one cannot be convicted twice for the same crime.
When asked about the Parliament’s attitude during the negotiations, this source replied: "they just say no." Given these circumstances, difficult to predict the outcome of Tuesday’s negotiations. Perhaps one thing could make a difference: the meeting will be chaired by the Chairman of the Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee, Claude Moraes (S&D, UK), and not by the rapporteur, for “reasons of internal procedures”. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)