2000/645/EC: Council Decision of 17 October 2000 correcting the Schengen acquis as contained in Schengen Executive Committee SCH/Com-ex (94)15 rev.
Date: 2000-10-17
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: Community acquis, Schengen Agreement, confidentiality

L 272/24

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

25.10.2000

II

(Acts whose publication is not obligatory)

COUNCIL

COUNCIL DECISION

of 17 October 2000

correcting the Schengen acquis as contained in Schengen Executive Committee SCH/Com-ex (94)15
rev.

(2000/645/EC)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the first sentence of the second subparagraph
of Article 2(1) of the Protocol annexed to the Treaty on Euro-
pean Union and to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,
integrating the Schengen acquis into the frame-
work of the European Union (hereinafter referred to as ‘the
Schengen Protocol’),

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

Schengen Executive Committee decision SCH/Com-ex
(94)15 rev. (1) was defined as forming part of
the
Schengen acquis in Annex A to Council Decision 1999/
435/EC of 20 May 1999 concerning the definition of
the Schengen acquis for the purpose of determining, in
conformity with the relevant provisions of the Treaty
establishing the European Community and the Treaty on
European Union, the legal basis for each of the provi-
sions or decisions which constitute the acquis (2).

Decision SCH/Com-ex (94)15 rev. introduced a compu-
terised procedure for consultation, for the purposes of
issuing visas, of the central authorities referred to in
Article 17(2) of the Convention, signed in Schengen on
19 June 1990, between the Kingdom of Belgium, the
Federal Republic of Germany, the French Republic, the
Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the Kingdom of the
Netherlands, implementing the Schengen Agreement of
14 June 1985 between the Governments of the States of
the Benelux Economic Union, the Federal Republic of
Germany and the French Republic on the gradual aboli-
tion of checks at their common borders.

(3)

Decision SCH/Com-ex (94)15 rev. also provided that the
aforementioned computerised procedure
should be
applied pursuant to the principles laid down in the data

(1) OJ L 239, 22.9.2000, p. 165.
(2) OJ L 176, 10.7.1999, p. 1.

(4)

(5)

(6)

dictionary attached thereto (contained in document
SCH-II-Vision (93)20 rev. 3, entitled ‘Schengen consulta-
tion network (technical specifications)’).

Document SCH/II-Vision (93)20 rev. 3 was replaced by
document SCH/II-Vision (99)5 (also entitled ‘Schengen
consultation network (technical specifications)’). This
document was approved by the Vision subgroup of
Working Group II on Movement of Persons on 31
March 1999 but,
through an oversight, Decision
SCH/Com-ex (94)15 rev. was not updated by the Execu-
tive Committe to take account of such approval before
the integration of the Schengen acquis into the frame-
work of the European Union.

This oversight must now be corrected by replacing the
reference in Decision SCH/Com-ex (94)15 rev. to docu-
ment SCH/II-Vision (93)20 rev. 3 by a reference to
document SCH/II-Vision (99)5, so that the version of the
Schengen consultation network (technical specifications)
currently in use is formally approved by the Council,
which has substituted itself for the Executive Committee
pursuant to the second sentence of the first subpara-
graph of Article 2(1) of the Schengen Protocol.

Since the aim of this Decision is to rectify the omission
of the Executive Committee to acknowledge the version
of the Schengen consultation network (technical specifi-
cations) contained in SCH/II-Vision (99)5 as part of the
Schengen acquis before that acquis was integrated into
the framework of the European Union and to confirm
its integration, but not to make any amendments to the
document itself, Article 2(1) of the Schengen Protocol
constitutes the appropriate legal basis for doing so, it
being understood that any subsequent amendments to
SCH/II-Vision (99)5 will have to be carried out
in
accordance with the relevant provisions of the Treaties.

25.10.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 272/25

(7)

(8)

The Mixed Committee, established pursuant to Article 3
of the Agreement concluded by the Council of the Euro-
pean Union and the Republic of
Iceland and the
Kingdom of Norway concerning the association of those
two States with the implementation, application and
development of the Schengen acquis, has addressed this
matter in accordance with Article 4 of that Agreement.

Document SCH/II-Vision (99)5 contains detailed prac-
tical and technical information on the principles to be
followed by the relevant consular authorities when
communicating with each other by means of
the
computerised consultation procedure introduced by
decision SCH/Com-ex (94)15 rev. and should accord-
ingly be treated as a confidential document,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

The reference in decision SCH/Com-ex (94)15 rev. to docu-
ment SCH/II-Vision (93)20 rev. 3 shall be replaced by a refer-
ence to document SCH/II-Vision (99)5.

Article 2

Document SCH/II-Vision (99)5 shall be classified as confiden-
tial.

Article 3

This Decision shall take effect on the day of its publication.

Done at Luxembourg, 17 October 2000.

For the Council

The President

É. GUIGOU