10331/04 AMS/Cr 1 DG H I COUNCIL of the EUROPEAN UNION
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COUNCIL OF Brussels, 9 June 2004 THE EUROPEAN UNION 10331/04 FRONT 111 COMIX 392 PROPOSAL from: European Commission dated: 2 June 2004 Subject: Proposal for a Council regulation establishing a Community Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders Delegations will find attached a Commission proposal submitted under a covering letter from Ms Patricia BUGNOT, Director, to Mr Javier SOLANA, Secretary-General/High Representative. ________________________ Encl.: COM(2004) 391 final 10331/04 AMS/cr 1 DG H I EN COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES Brussels, 26.5.2004 COM(2004) 391 final 2004/0127 (CNS) Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION establishing a Community Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders . (presented by the Commission) EN EN TABLE OF CONTENTS EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM...................................................................................... 4 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................. 4 2. Objectives and content of the proposal: from a recasting of the Common Manual to a Community code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders.. 7 3. Choice of legal base.................................................................................................... 10 4. Subsidiarity and proportionality .................................................................................. 10 5. Consequences of the various protocols annexed to the treaties .................................... 11 United Kingdom and Ireland....................................................................................... 11 Denmark..................................................................................................................... 11 Norway and Iceland .................................................................................................... 12 6. Consequences for the new Member States of the two-stage procedure for implementing instruments building on the Schengen acquis................................... 12 7. Comments on the Articles ........................................................................................... 13 ANNEX Provisions of the Common Manual not taken over ..................................................... 36 COUNCIL REGULATION establishing a Community Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders............................................................................... 38 Title I General provisions ......................................................................................................... 42 Title II External borders............................................................................................................ 44 Chapter I Crossing of external borders and conditions for entry................................................ 44 Chapter II Control of external borders and refusal of entry ....................................................... 46 Chapter III Resources for border checks and cooperation between Member States.................... 50 Chapter IV Special detailed rules for border checks and specific procedures............................. 51 Title III Internal borders ........................................................................................................... 52 Chapter I Abolition of controls at internal frontiers................................................................... 52 Chapter II Safeguard clause ...................................................................................................... 52 Title IV Final provisions........................................................................................................... 55 ANNEX I Authorised border crossing-points............................................................................ 58 ANNEX II Documentary evidence establishing the likelihood of the reasons for entry ........... 170 ANNEX III Reference amounts required for crossing borders fixed annually by the national authorities............................................................................................................................... 172 ANNEX IV Checks at authorised border crossing-points........................................................ 181 ANNEX V Relaxation of checks at land borders..................................................................... 182 ANNEX VI Model signposts identifying lanes at frontier crossing-points............................... 183 ANNEX VII Affixing stamps ................................................................................................. 187 ANNEX VIII EN 2 EN Part A Procedures for refusing entry....................................................................................... 188 Part B Standard form for refusals to admit .............................................................................. 189 ANNEX IX List of national services responsible for border-controls ...................................... 191 ANNEX X Special detailed rules for different types of border and the different means of transport used for crossing the Member States’ external borders......................................... 193 ANNEX XI Special arrangements for certain categories of persons ........................................ 200 ANNEX XII Model cards issued by Foreign Ministries .......................................................... 203 ANNEX XIII Correlation table............................................................................................... 204 EN 3 EN EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 1. INTRODUCTION The Commission Communication Towards integrated management of the external borders of the Member States of the European Union of 7 May 2002 (hereafter “Communication on external borders”)1 identified five essential components of the common policy on the integrated management of external borders: a) a common corpus of legislation; b) a common operational coordination and cooperation mechanism; c) a common integrated risk analysis; d) staff trained in the European dimension and interoperational equipment; e) burden-sharing between Member States in the run-up to a European Corps of Border Guards. As regards the common corpus of legislation, the recasting of the Common Manual on checks at the external borders2 was identified as a measure to be taken in the short term,3 in particular “to clarify the legal status of its provisions and make them a source of law alongside other legal instruments in place” and to “introduce into the Common Manual certain best practices, proceeding on the basis of the Schengen Catalogue of Best Practices”.4 This was incorporated in the Plan for the management of external borders of the Member States of the European Union approved by the JHA Council on 13 June 2002 and backed by the Seville European Council of 21 and 22 June. The Thessaloniki Council of 19 and 20 June 2003 urged the Commission “to present, as soon as possible, proposals on the recast of the Common Manual, including the stamping of travel documents of third-country nationals”.5 This is, therefore, an important initiative as part of the consolidation and development of the legislative side of the policy of integrated border management, just as the future European Agency for the management of operational cooperation at the external borders forms the key to developing the operational side of the policy.6 Obviously, the role of the Agency will be fundamental in implementing the common 1 COM(2002) 233 final. 2 Decision of the Executive Committee of 28 April 1999 on the definitive versions of the Common Manual and the Common Consular Instructions (SCH/Com-ex (99) 13) (OJ L 239, 22.9.2000, p. 317). An updated version of the Common Manual, without certain confidential annexes, was published in OJ C 313, 16.12.2002, p. 97. 3 Other measures proposed in the short term included the production of a practical handbook for use by border guards and also available in electronic form, and the adoption of common measures on local border traffic (see the two proposals for regulations presented by the Commission on 14.8.2003: COM(2003) 502final - 2003/0193 (CNS) and 2003/0194 (CNS)). The long-term measures included a formalised process of exchanging and processing data and information between authorities operating at the external borders and those operating within the common area of freedom of movement, and the definition of an institutional and legal framework (powers, areas of action, etc.) for a future European Corps of Border Guards. 4 EU Schengen Catalogue, External border controls, removal and readmission: Recommendations and best practice, Council of the European Union, SG - DG H, 28.2.2002. 5 On this final point see the proposal for a Regulation presented by the Commission on 6.11.2003: COM(2003) 664 final. 6 See the proposal for a Council Regulation (currently being adopted) COM(2003) 687 final, 11.11.2003. EN 4 EN rules provided for in Title II of this Regulation. An explicit reference is made to the Agency's role in Article 14 on operational cooperation between the Member States “with a view to the effective implementation of border checks” (see the comments on this Article). On the legislative side, the Common Manual, which was produced as part of the Schengen intergovernmental cooperation and incorporated in the institutional and legal framework of the European Union following the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam,7 is currently the basic instrument governing