WRITTEN QUESTION No. 237/98 by María ESTEVAN BOLEA to the Commission. Biological diversity
Date: 1998-02-13
Institutions: ESTEVAN BOLEA, European Parliament
Subjects: European Environment Agency, biodiversity, degradation of the environment, ecosystem, environmental protection, protected area, protected species, protection of animal life, protection of plant life

C 386/6

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

11.12.98

15 October 1968 on the abolition of restrictions on movement and residence within the Community for workers
of Member States and their families (1) and Article 4(1) of Council Directive 73/148/EEC of 21 May 1973 on the
abolition of restrictions on movement and residence within the Community for nationals of Member States with
regard to establishment and the provision of services (2)). According to the case-law of the Court of Justice, the
residence permit constitutes a declaratory act in a respect of a right deriving from the EC Treaty.

Secondary Community legislation does not contain any requirement for Union citizens to carry the residence
permit at all times in public. However, Community law does not prohibit a Member State from requiring Union
citizens, in a non-discriminatory manner vis-(cid:224)-vis citizens of the Member State concerned, to carry identity or
travel documents or their residence permit when in public and to introduce penalties that comply with the
principle of proportionality for infringements of that requirement. As the Court of Justice confirmed in its
judgment in Commission v Belgium, (3) (cid:145)Community law does not prevent a Member State from checking, within
its territory, compliance with the obligation imposed on persons enjoying a right of residence under Community
law to carry their residence or establishment permit at all times, where an identical obligation is imposed on its
own nationals as regards their identity card.(cid:146)

In accordance with Community law, Member States are required to allow Union citizens to enter their territory
simply on production of a valid identity card or passport (see Article 3(1) of the aforementioned Directives). In
principle, therefore, Community law prohibits administrative measures imposing in a general manner frontier
formalities other than simple production of a valid identity card or passport.

As regards controls on compliance with the requirement under national law for Union citizens to carry their
residence permit when crossing frontiers, the Court of Justice held in the above judgment that, provided such
checks are not a condition for entry into the national territory, in other words, do not result in individuals being
turned away, their prohibition does not derive from Community law. The Court of Justice added that, depending
on the circumstances, the carrying-out of such checks upon entry into the territory of a Member State may,
however, constitute a barrier to the fundamental principle of the free movement of persons. That would be the
case in particular if it were found that the checks were carried out in a systematic, arbitrary or unnecessarily
restrictive manner.

Since the objective of discontinuing checks on individuals has not yet been achieved within the Union, the
aforementioned principles of Community law still apply.

As for the Schengen Convention, Article 2(3) stipulates that the abolition of checks on persons at internal
frontiers must not prejudice either the exercise of public-order powers by the competent authorities under the
legislation of each contracting party throughout its territory or the requirements that persons should possess,
carry and produce documents provided for by its legislation.

(1) OJ L 257, 19.10.1968.
(2) OJ L 172, 28.6.1973.
(3) Case 321/87 [1989] ECR 997.

(98/C 386/006)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0237/98

by Mar(cid:237)a Estevan Bolea (PPE) to the Commission

(13 February 1998)

Subject: Biological diversity

Is the Commission analysing the current situation as regards the conservation of biodiversity, in order to direct
the changes in the processes which have an adverse effect on it? Will the future action plans and measures which
the Community strategy presumably contains be linked to an analysis of the current situation and the need to
make changes?