During the EP Plenary session (13-16/02) in Strasbourg, Monica MACOVEI (ECR, RO), Julian KING, Member of the EC in charge of the Security Union, Marielle DE SARNEZ (ALDE, FR), Tanja FAJON (S&amp;D, SI), Sophia IN'T VELD (ALDE, NL), Marie-Christine VERGIAT (GUE/NGL, FR)&nbsp; debate&nbsp;on reinforcement of checks against relevant databases at external borders

Strasbourg

debate

plenary session

fight against terrorism (T)

KING, Julian (UK, EC)

VERGIAT, Marie-Christine (GUE/NGL, FR)

IN 'T VELD, Sophia (Renew, NL)

FAJON, Tanja (S&D, SI)

MACOVEI, Monica (ECR, RO)

surveillance of the external borders of the EU (T)

DE SARNEZ, Marielle (ALDE, FR)

Reinforcement of checks against relevant databases at external borders: extracts from the debate

SOUNDBITE (Romanian), Monica MACOVEI (ECR, RO), rapporteur, What is new? The verification of the persons who are entering and exit the EU via any external border, we check them against the data bases. That means that we are changing the situation we have nowadays in which the EU citizens are not being check when they are entering or exit the Schengen area. Also the citizens that do not belong to the EU, but to third countries, are for the moment being checked only when they enter the Union but not when they exit. So what we are changing now is the fact that every one, EU or non EU citizen are going to be checked when they enter and when they exit the EU. We don&rsquo;t only refer to the Schengen area. They are going to be checked when they are entering and exit any external border.

SOUNDBITE (Romanian), Monica MACOVEI (ECR, RO), How are we going to check them? We are going to check against the mandatory data bases, they have to be used in a mandatory manner by the member states. This is the new proposal that the regulations brings forward. We are talking to the Schengen data bases related to the stolen and lost travel documents and we check against the Interpol data bases.

SOUNDBITE (Romanian), Monica MACOVEI (ECR, RO), These data bases have to contain a lots of correct and complete information that are being send immediately by member states. Here I will like to appeal to the member states to realise that this cooperation, and this entirely structure depends on the speed and the accuracy with which the member states react.

SOUNDBITE (English), Julian KING, Member of the EC in charge of the Security Union, In the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris the Commission proposed the amendment to the Schengen borders code introducing systematics checks for all citizens at our external borders. As we just heard, these check are vital to stopping, among others, potential terrorists. Not just for coming in to the EU, but also to prevent them from travelling to conflict zones.

SOUNDBITE (English), Julian KING, If a systematic consultation of data base leads to a disproportionate impact on the flow at border traffic, than member states will have the option of carrying out targeted checks against the data bases, provided that they first carry out an appropriate risk assessment. In the case of airport, as we just heard, this option is generally only available for a transition arrangement of 6 months, unless an airport is having specific infrastructure problems, in which case an exception could be made to extend that transition period up to 18 months.

SOUNDBITE (French), Marielle DE SARNEZ (ALDE, FR), This is a direct response to the terrorist attacks committed on European soil, and in particular in Paris, this modification will allow us to have a systematic control of persons at the entry and exit of the EU, and a systematic check, based on data bases. This decision will give returned credibility to Schengen, as long as it is applied rapidly, and properly at all our frontiers, and insuring a proper implementation by the European coast guards.

SOUNDBITE (Slovenian), Tanja FAJON (S&amp;D, SI), My group isn&rsquo;t very happy with what has been achieved, the new border rules have short coming and we have an imbalance when dealing with the security risks. How efficient can these controls be, for example at the airports? Slovenia, presumably in this summer will have long queues at the Croat border. There will be millions of travellers, and that will bring huge difficulties for a small country.

SOUNDBITE (English), Sophia IN&apos;T VELD (ALDE, NL), I also think that the justification used, on the Paris attacks is a very strange one. Because what turned out to be the case is that the member states are not sharing information, and that terrorist were able to cross internal borders without problems. So this seems to me not a coherent vision on security and on external border control, but the usual Pavlov reflexes and salami tactics. However we are pleased that we&rsquo;ve got at least one thing, and that is that the compulsory checks will be limited to well defined data bases, rather than any general reference that was included initially, namely check against all relevant data bases which might be anything. What is also becomes clear is that the member states actually failed to make full use of these. We have a system in place, and member states are not using it, they are not feeding information in it, and they are not checking it. So again, we are finding solutions to the wrong problem.

SOUNDBITE (French), Marie-Christine VERGIAT (GUE/NGL, FR), In practice there will be random checks, they will only look at data bases when there are doubts and the mandatory checks can be suspended just to help passengers&rsquo; flows, and again, there will be some exceptions. So all of these is really a variable geometry, I think there is a great amount of hypocrisy, if not cynicism, that will bring and violation of fundamental rights without improving security for our citizens.