Mr President, Madam Vice-President of the Commission, ladies and gentlemen, we must fight fraud and the illegal trade in stolen vehicles and this is the purpose of this proposal. Car theft in the Member States has increased to one million, two hundred thousand vehicles per year. Indeed, this figure has been exceeded in previous years, and considerable losses have been incurred, totalling EUR 15 million. It is therefore essential that we fight this type of crime, which causes not only financial loss, but also physical and psychological damage, in view of the various forms of violence associated with car crime. Furthermore, as you have just stated, Commissioner, it affects the citizens’ sense of justice and security. More than 3 300 vehicles are stolen every day, which corresponds to approximately one theft every 25 seconds. Since I began this speech, two vehicles have, in all likelihood, been stolen and I hope that neither of these belongs to any of the Members present. The purpose of modifying the Schengen Convention is to allow the public vehicle registration authorities direct access to certain categories of data contained in the Schengen Information System (SIS). Private vehicle registration services may only have the right to indirect access, via an authority with access to the SIS. The SIS will thus become an even more important instrument in the fight against crime, enabling the authorities to check, quickly and efficiently, whether the vehicle whose registration has been requested has been stolen, misappropriated or lost. The functioning of the internal market will thus be improved, as the principle of free movement of goods is strengthened, and this, in turn, will help towards the progressive establishment of the area of freedom, security and justice and the implementation of the common transport policy. Why direct access? In order to prevent, in good time, vehicles stolen in one country from being registered, and thereby legalised, in another. It is calculated that 30% to 40% of the vehicles concerned are stolen by criminal organisations, which then transform them and export them to other countries both inside and outside the EU. The whole operation usually takes less than 48 hours. There are two key arguments in favour, the first of which is efficiency. Several million cars are registered in the EU. It would be too much for the police to check all these cars systematically in the SIS. Some 15 million vehicles per year are presented for registration. Direct access, accordingly, makes it quicker and easier to check the legal status of a vehicle, which means greater efficiency. The second argument in favour is transparency. Currently, Member States have all found some way to ensure that it can be checked at the moment of registration of the car whether it has been stolen. The information that they receive is reasonably reliable, yet these methods are relatively opaque and complicated. Including an article in the Schengen Convention would confer greater transparency on the entire process. What kind of data are we speaking about? Access should only be given to data concerning vehicles with a cylinder capacity above 55 cc, and data concerning trailers and caravans with an unladen weight exceeding 750 kg. It is proposed to increase access to data that are not yet covered by the SIS, namely data concerning registration certificates and number plates that have been stolen misappropriated or lost. This is the only way in which the desired aims can be achieved. The Spanish initiatives, which we welcome here, concerning the SIS’s new functions, in particular in the fight against terrorism, already provided for integrating these data in the SIS, but have yet to be adopted due to a parliamentary reserve by Denmark. We trust that those initiatives will be adopted as soon as possible. I propose the deletion, however, of the proposal on access to data concerning issued identity papers, in accordance with the advice of the Schengen Joint Supervisory Authority, along with data concerning blank official documents. The scope of such a concept would be too wide-ranging and too vague. The set of data accessible to vehicle registration authorities is, therefore, clearly defined and limited to what is necessary and appropriate. Access to those data deemed too sensitive will thus be removed and will be limited to objects, in other words, the vehicles themselves. I should like to call on this House to endorse this initiative and to reject the proposal tabled by the shadow rapporteur, Mrs Pacciotti, of the Socialist Group, which advocates keeping the current system of indirect access in place. Should that proposal be adopted, nothing will change and we will not make any headway in combating these crimes. I trust that I have set out the case clearly by giving evidence of the numbers involved, which are ample illustration of the need to establish new ways of combating automobile crime. The situation, as it stands, must not be allowed to continue. Mrs Paccioti fears that by allowing direct access we will increase the risk of the misuse of personal data. I have always advocated the most rigorous protection for the fundamental rights of our citizens, including the right to the protection of personal data. In view of amendments that I have tabled to the Commission’s original proposal – all of which have been approved by the Committee on Citizens’ Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs – I do not believe that the protection of personal data is jeopardised. The access given to the public vehicle registration authorities will be clearly defined and limited to what is necessary and appropriate, in other words, solely concerning objects, in other words, the vehicles themselves, in order to ascertain from the system whether or not the vehicle in question has been stolen. Mr President, to reject this step would, to my mind, be a bad decision, as we would remain ineffective in combating this type of crime. It would also send out the wrong signal to our citizens, who want to see closer cooperation and greater efficiency in combating crime and in ensuring their security.

Political group: PPE-DE