WRITTEN QUESTION P-2119/02 by Luciano Caveri (ELDR) to the Commission. Identity checks at Malpensa airport.
Date: 2002-07-11
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Italy, Schengen Agreement, airport, border control, police checks, public safety

10.7.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 161 E/15

As the Honourable Member may be aware, Commission translators in Portuguese and other languages are,
from time to time, called upon to establish terminology without recourse to national bodies or institutions
which would be able to settle such linguistic matters in a consensual, and final manner. In this case, every
effort was made to obtain a maximum clarity and accuracy of terminology after seeking the advice of
recognised Portuguese experts.

(1) SEC(2000) 1547/7 final.
(2) COM(2001) 428 final, OJ C 287, 12.10.2001.
(3) Written Question E-1616/02.

(2003/C 161 E/015)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2119/02

by Luciano Caveri (ELDR) to the Commission

(11 July 2002)

Subject: Identity checks at Malpensa airport

At Malpensa airport in the last few days the State police have reintroduced controls in addition to the
procedures for checking identity already introduced by the airlines, even for the Schengen area. The
controls make no distinction between Schengen and other passengers and consist in people being
physically stopped and each individual passport etc being checked, as well as the boarding card. Have the
European authorities been notified about this ‘suspension’ of the Schengen Agreements?

Supplementary answer
by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(29 January 2003)

Article 2(1) of the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement, which has been incorporated into
European Union law, provides that internal borders may be crossed at any point without checks on
persons being carried out purely on the ground that an internal border has been crossed.

Article 2(2) provides that checks may be reintroduced for a limited period at internal borders where there
is a threat to the public policy or national security of a Member State.

Article 2(3) provides that abolition of checks on persons at internal borders must not affect the exercise of
including
police powers under national
therefore at airports.

law throughout the territory of the Member State concerned,

According to the information received from the Italian authorities, they have not invoked the safeguard
clause under Article 2(2) but have carried out controls under Article 2(3).

Provided that the controls to which the Honourable Member’s question refers are aimed at checking
travellers’ boarding cards against their identity documents at various places in the airport, such as metal
detector checkpoints and departure gates,
following the terrorist attacks of
11 September 2001, they may be considered as controls carried out in accordance with Article 2(3).

security reasons

for

(2003/C 161 E/016)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2178/02

by Jan Wiersma (PSE) to the Commission

(18 July 2002)

Subject: Fraud involving bank cards in the Netherlands

On 17 November 1998 the European Parliament adopted a resolution (1) urging the Commission to adopt
legislation or other measures to make the use of bank and credit cards much more secure.