WRITTEN QUESTION E-3823/00 by Jens-Peter Bonde (EDD) to the Commission. The Nordic Passport Union and Article 45 of the Schengen Convention.
Date: 2000-12-07
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Denmark, Schengen Agreement, Sweden, application of EU law

19.6.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 174 E/155

Following the outcome of the report the process of amendment of Council Directive 91/628/EC of
19 November 1991 as amended (3), on the protection of animals during transport will be initiated with a
particular consideration to improve the level of enforcement of Community legislation in this field.

(1) See page 150.
(2) OJ L 148, 30.6.1995.
(3) OJ L 340, 11.12.1991.

(2001/C 174 E/161)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3823/00

by Jens-Peter Bonde (EDD) to the Commission

(7 December 2000)

Subject: The Nordic Passport Union and Article 45 of the Schengen Convention

Will the Nordic Passport Union be undermined by Article 45 of the Schengen Convention which requires
all participating countries to ensure that all hotels, campsites, hostels and other overnight accommodation
register all foreign guests and require them to show valid papers?

In other words: will the Schengen Convention mean that Danish citizens, for example, will have to take
their passports to Sweden if they wished to stay overnight, thus changing the rules curently applying under
the Nordic Passport Union?

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(22 January 2001)

According to Article 13 paragraph 3 of the Agreement concluded between the Council and Norway and
Iceland, that agreement does not affect co-operation in the framework of the Nordic Passport Union to the
extent that such co-operation is not contrary to and does not hinder this agreement.

the necessary measures in order

Article 45 paragraph 1(a) of the Schengen Convention foresees that (cid:145)the Contracting Parties undertake to
the managers of establishments providing
adopt
to ensure that
including nationals of the
accommodation or their agents see to it that aliens accommodated therein,
other Contracting parties and those of other Member States of the European Union (cid:133) personally complete
and sign registration forms and confirm their identity by producing a valid identity document(cid:146).

This article has been integrated into the framework of the Union as part of the provisions on police and
judicial cooperation (third pillar of the Union), by attributing Articles 34 and 30 paragraph 1 of the Treaty
on European Union as the legal basis (Council Decision 1999/436/Ceof 20 May 1999 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 provisions or decisions which constitute the
Schengen acquis (1)).

The provision cited only stipulates that the identity of persons shall be confirmed by producing a valid
identity document. It does not explain which identity document is intended. But in any case, it is not
explicitly stated that an identity card or passport is necessary.

Taking into account that Article 13 of the Agreement concluded between the Council and Norway and
Iceland, which stipulates that the co-operation in the framework of the Nordic Passport Union is not
affected to the extent that such co-operation is not contrary and does not hinder the agreement, the term
(cid:145)valid identity document(cid:146) of Article 45 can thus be interpreted in the way that documents until now
accepted by the Nordic countries to prove identity are sufficient for the purposes of Article 45 of the
Schengen Convention.

(1) OJ L 176, 10.7.1999.