WRITTEN QUESTION P-1088/01 by Jens-Peter Bonde (EDD) to the Commission. Schengen agreement ‐ medical passport, identification card and permanent border control.
Date: 2001-03-27
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Denmark, border control, environmental law, free movement of persons, medicinal product, veterinary inspection

13.11.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 318 E/199

Promoting regional trade by means of asymmetrical trade concessions in favour of the countries concerned
is an important element of the Union(cid:146)s Stabilisation and Association Process for south-east Europe.
Fostering economic development is also an objective of the Stabilisation and Association Agreements
(SAAs), one of which will soon be signed with FYROM, while one is currently under negotiation with
Croatia. The autonomous measures already granted by the Union, soon to be superseded by the
Stabilisation and Association Agreements, liberalise approximately 95 % of these countries(cid:146) exports to the
Union. Upon accession, Slovenia will become a party to these agreements, which are more comprehensive
in scope than its current arrangements, and would provide a solution to a large part of the concerns put
forward by Slovenia. As the Honourable Member points out, such agreements will indeed enhance regional
co-operation, thus supporting peace, stability and further economic development in the Western Balkans.

Technical contacts are ongoing with the Slovenian authorities to assess the practical dimension of the
issue.

(2001/C 318 E/217)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1088/01

by Jens-Peter Bonde (EDD) to the Commission

(27 March 2001)

Subject: Schengen agreement (cid:129) medical passport, identification card and permanent border control

For which medicines is special certification required under Schengen rules when private individuals cross
national frontiers, and is the Danish Government(cid:146)s list consistent with Schengen rules?

Under Schengen rules, must all citizens be able to identify themselves to the police by means of an ID card
to be carried at all times, or is it permissible not to carry an ID card? Which ID cards will be recognised in
Denmark when the country joins the Schengen area on 25 March 2001?

Do the rules allow the permanent deployment of patrol cars at internal borders in the Schengen area to:

(cid:129) check passports and/or identification papers,

(cid:129) carry out veterinary checks, and

(cid:129) verify compliance with environmental legislation?

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(8 May 2001)

The Schengen rules do not lay down any list of medicines for which a traveller in the Schengen
area requires special certification. However, Article 75 of the Convention implementing the Schengen
Agreement provides that persons may carry the narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances that are
necessary for their medical treatment provided that they can produce a certificate issued by a competent
authority.

This rule covers drugs and substances prescribed by a doctor which the persons wishing to visit another
Member State need during their stay.

The Article refers to medicines that are mentioned in international Conventions on drugs (Single
Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances) or which contain
substances mentioned in those Conventions and are hence governed by national laws on drugs. However,
in accordance with these Conventions, the checks provided for in national legislation on drugs may also
cover other substances. Consequently, the list of products that constitute or contain narcotic drugs and
psychotropic substances may vary from one State to another.

C 318 E/200

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

13.11.2001

The certificate provided for in the Schengen acquis does not apply to the transport of routine medicines or
antibiotics dispensed on medical prescription.

The scope, conditions and detailed arrangements for conducting identification checks, including means of
proof, are all governed by national law. It is therefore up to Denmark to lay down the relevant provisions.
In any event, under existing Community law, Member States must, when carrying out identification
checks, recognise valid passports and identity cards issued by the other Member States.

Denmark therefore recognises identity cards issued by the other Member States.

Under the Schengen rules, the internal borders of the Schengen area may be crossed at any point without
checks on persons being carried out. Accordingly, the competent authorities may no longer carry out
checks on persons at internal borders, except where public policy or national security requires such checks
to be reintroduced.

The Schengen Executive Committee has decided that alternative border checks are incompatible with the
Schengen rules on the abolition of controls on individuals. Alternative border checks are taken to mean
systematic checks on persons, carried out on the grounds that they have crossed a border, in a hinterland
area adjacent to the border or in defined border areas.

It is therefore forbidden for police patrol cars to park at internal borders in order to carry out checks on
passports or identity cards simply because their holders have crossed the border.

As regards veterinary inspections and checks on compliance with environmental
legislation, these are
matters which are not regulated by the Schengen acquis. However, existing Community law does not allow
the permanent deployment of patrol cars at internal borders for the purposes of carrying out veterinary
inspections and checks on compliance with environmental legislation.

(2001/C 318 E/218)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1090/01

by Luciana Sbarbati (ELDR) to the Commission

(27 March 2001)

Subject: Contradictions in Community policy in the research sector

The Ministers for Education and Research, meeting in Uppsala to prepare for the Stockholm summit,
discussed the implications for those two sectors of the ageing of the EU(cid:146)s population and considered
a Swedish study predicting that 28 % of the European population would be over 65 years old in 2050
(compared to 14 % at present) and that enlargement would not alleviate the situation, as only Turkey was
bucking the trend.

In the (environmental, socio-economic, scientific and technological) research sector, a reduction in the
number of those employed, and the decline in innovation and skills, will result in slower growth. So the
Swedish presidency is considering how to meet the demand for human resources in the scientific sector,
how to improve young people(cid:146)s perceptions of science and technology and how to raise public awareness
of science, and is considering the possibility of employing research workers from third countries.

The Commission, on the other hand, after deciding to reduce staff levels at the JRC by 200 (despite
a Council agreement in 1998 to maintain the establishment plan) and transfer Ispra(cid:146)s staff and activities to
Patten (in January 2001) (cid:129) without consulting Parliament (cid:129) has now announced that the majority of
research staff will be pensioned off by 2008, although the universities will not be able to ensure a supply
of replacements and current conditions in terms of visas, mobility and rules on work and residence
necessitate structural changes.