WRITTEN QUESTION E-0078/04 by Proinsias De Rossa (PSE) to the Commission. Schengen Information System and missing persons.
Date: 2004-01-20
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Schengen Information System, access to information, disclosure of information, trafficking in human beings

C 84 E/158

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

3.4.2004

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(25 February 2004)

Member States inspect foreign aircraft which land on their territory and take part in a coordination
programme established by the European Civil Aviation Conference: the Safety Assessment of Foreign
Aircraft (SAFA) programme. These checks and the SAFA programme were much discussed in the press
following the Flash Airlines Boeing 737 accident at Sharm el Sheikh on 3 January 2004; the checking of
this aircraft highlighted the programme’s limitations.

The proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the safety of third
countries’ aircraft using Community airports (1) should make it possible to overcome the deficiencies in the
SAFA programme, in particular by making checks mandatory, by providing scope for Community action
vis-à-vis undertakings or countries which fail to comply with safety requirements, and by publishing an
annual report on inspections. Once this Directive is applied by the Member States, the Commission will
have detailed information on all the inspections carried out at Community airports.

The Commission currently has the following data: in 2002, European States participating in the SAFA
programme carried out 3 234 checks on aircraft operated by 529 airlines from 127 countries.

The Commission notes that the certification of airlines and the certification of each individual aircraft is
done by the national civil aviation authority of the country in which the airline is established or in which
the aircraft is registered,
in accordance with the rules of the International Civil Aviation Organisation
(ICAO). The responsibility of ensuring that international safety standards are being adhered to rests with
the national authority, regardless of
the relationship between fares, costs and aircraft maintenance.
All undertakings must submit to inspections by the competent authorities. The national registration
authorities undergo ICAO audits.

(1) OJ C 103 E, 30.4.2002.

(2004/C 84 E/0196)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0078/04

by Proinsias De Rossa (PSE) to the Commission

Subject: Schengen Information System and missing persons

(20 January 2004)

In its reply to my written question No E-3222/03 (1),
the Commission says that as regards the
recommendation made at the European Conference on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human
Beings held in Brussels in September 2002, that a feasibility study be conducted on the establishment of a
European database for missing persons, a recommendation reiterated by the European Parliament in its
resolution on the Daphne II programme (P5_TA(2003)0366- A5-0280/2003), the possibility of searching
for missing people and children in particular already exists under the Schengen Information System (SIS)
and that this possibility will be maintained with the development of the second generation of the SIS.

Could the Commission indicate which Member States utilise this facility and outline what conclusions have
been reached as regards its effectiveness?

(1) OJ C 78 E, 27.3.2004, p. 493.

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(20 February 2004)

Article 97 of the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement of 14 June 1985 (1)
(here after
referred to as ‘the Convention’) stipulates:
‘Data on missing persons or persons who, for their own
protection or in order to prevent threats, need temporarily to be placed under police protection at the
request of the competent authority or the competent judicial authority of the Party issuing the alert shall
be entered, so that the police authorities may communicate their whereabouts to the Party issuing the alert

3.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 84 E/159

or may move the persons to a safe place in order to prevent them from continuing their journey, if so
authorised by national law. This shall apply in particular to minors and persons who must be interned
following a decision by a competent authority. The communication of data on a missing person who is of
age shall be subject to the person’s consent.’

According to Article 101 of the Convention, access to these data shall be reserved exclusively to the
authorities responsible for border checks and for other police and customs checks carried out within the
country, as well as to the authorities responsible for the coordination of such checks.

Since the Parties of the Convention are responsible for the management of the Schengen Information
System (SIS), they are in a position to draw conclusions as regards its effectiveness. However,
the
Commission was informed that about 33 000 persons were reported in the SIS further to Article 97 of the
Convention by the end of 2003. About 50 % percent of these persons were minors. The possibility of
circulating data on missing persons under Article 97 was used by all Schengen States, but especially by
Germany, Spain, France, Italy and Portugal.

The Council addressed the issue of a European database for missing persons in its conclusions of 8 May
2003 in the Brussels Declaration on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings (2) taking into
consideration the development of the SIS II. The Commission can confirm that the SIS II will be able to
include data on missing persons.

(1) OJ L 239, 22.9.2000.
(2) OJ C 137, 12.6.2003.

(2004/C 84 E/0197)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0082/04

by Proinsias De Rossa (PSE) to the Commission

(20 January 2004)

Subject: Clinical Trials Directive

Further to the Commission’s response to E-3209/03 and E-3215/03 (1) on implementation of Directive
2001/20/EC (2), what views were presented by the Irish Government representatives at the 15 May 2003
pharmaceutical committee meeting? What progress has been made in the preparation of
the
implementation guidelines for this Directive in the Member States?

(1) OJ C 70 E, 20.3.2004.
(2) OJ L 121, 1.5.2001, p. 34.

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(23 February 2004)

The Commission is currently working together with the Member States in the preparation of
the
implementing guidelines of this Directive. In this context, the Irish competent authority informed the
Commission that specific guidance for the application of clinical trials will be developed and published
soon.

The Commission discussed a first draft of the implementing guidelines with the Member States during the
Standing Committee meeting held on 23 July 2003. No agreement could be reached during that meeting.
The new draft for the implementing guidelines is still under discussion within the Commission.