Luxembourg, 06/10/2006 (Agence Europe) - The official announcement that the creation of the computerised SIS II system will be delayed has angered most of the countries that joined the EU in 2004.
The announcement by Commissioner Franco Frattini, who said the internal borders of the enlarged EU would be lifted towards end 2008, was followed the same day by a vigorous protest from the Polish prime minister. “We do not see any reason to treat the new EU Member States any differently from those that have been members of the EU for longer”, said Jaroslaw Kaczynski, who heads the Polish conservative government, during a joint press conference in Warsaw with his Slovakian counterpart, Robert Fico. Mr Fico had expressed the hope that the meeting of Visegrad Group countries (V4 - Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia), scheduled for 10 October, would give a “clear signal on Schengen”. The countries of the Salzburg Group (Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia and Austria) also recently sent a letter to the Finnish EU Presidency in which they recall that the abolition of internal borders is a priority in their view. The SIS II was initially to take effect in March 2007 to allow internal border controls to be lifted in October that same year. On Thursday in Luxembourg, however, the Finnish EU Council Presidency and the European Commission spoke of postponing the lifting of borders until end 2008 (EUROPE 9272).
“The Polish are the most resentful about this, but they are also the ones lagging behind the most in setting up SIS II”, a diplomatic source said. Speaking out on behalf of the older Member States, the Luxembourg Justice Minister, Luc Frieden, nonetheless pointed out that “security should be the most important element to be taken into account by the 25”. In order to answer the concerns of the “new” members, the Portuguese delegation floated the idea of introducing the “SIS I for all” which would allow borders to be rapidly lifted. “The Portuguese are doing everything they can to move in this direction to be sure of seeing enlargement in the Schengen Area happen under their Presidency (second half of 2007)”, a diplomatic source said. The December JHA Council will also decide, depending on results of assessment, how the “SIS I for all” project should be followed up. While Commissioner Frattini recalled on Thursday evening that “June 2008 is a realistic date for operational launch of SIS II”, the Finnish Home Minister said that “the Presidency will do everything in its power” for Schengen enlargement to come sooner, subject to security guarantees being met. To achieve this objective, the Council agreed to extend the Commission's mandate for development of SIS II beyond 31 December 2006 and for the creation of a task force of experts to ensure the management and coordination of the SIS II project. A precise timetable will be given at the JHA Council in December and the European Council will then be informed, without, however, the Heads of State and Government setting definitive dates for lifting borders - to the great displeasure of States such as Poland. There is still one major outstanding issue to be settled - that of the legal base for SIS II. The European Parliament, acting in co-decision with the Council in this field, does not want the intelligence services of Member States to have access to the new database. (bc)