Opinion of the Commission pursuant to Article 251 (2), third subparagraph, point (c) of the EC Treaty, on the European Parliament's amendments to the Council's common position regarding the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement of 14 June 1985 on the gradual abolition of checks at common borders as regards access to the Schengen Information System by the services in the Member States responsible for issuing registration certificates for vehicles amending the proposal of the Commission pursuant to Article 250 (2) of the EC Treaty
Date: 2005-06-02
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Schengen Information System, fight against crime, internal border of the EU, mutual recognition principle, public safety, theft, vehicle registration

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 2.6.2005 
COM(2005) 250 final 

2003/0198 (COD) 

OPINION OF THE COMMISSION 

pursuant to Article 251 (2), third subparagraph, point (c) of the EC Treaty, 
on the European Parliament's amendments to the Council's common position 
regarding the proposal for a  

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT  
AND OF THE COUNCIL 

amending the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement of 14 June 1985 on  
the gradual abolition of checks at common borders as regards access to the Schengen 
Information System by the services in the Member States responsible for issuing 
registration certificates for vehicles 

AMENDING THE PROPOSAL OF THE COMMISSION pursuant to Article 250 (2) of the 
EC Treaty 

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2003/0198 (COD) 

OPINION OF THE COMMISSION 

pursuant to Article 251 (2), third subparagraph, point (c) of the EC Treaty, 
on the European Parliament's amendments to the Council's common position 
regarding the proposal for a  

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT  
AND OF THE COUNCIL 

amending the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement of 14 June 1985 on  
the gradual abolition of checks at common borders as regards access to the Schengen 
Information System by the services in the Member States responsible for issuing 
registration certificates for vehicles 

1. 

HISTORY OF THE DOSSIER 

The  Council,  in  its  Conclusions  of  5  and  6  June  2003,  invited  the  Commission  to  present  a 
legislative  proposal  to  give  vehicle  registration  authorities  access  to  the  SIS  (Schengen 
Information  System)  data  on  stolen  and  lost  vehicles  and  relevant  documents.  The 
Commission presented a proposal for a Draft Regulation on 21 August 2003. 

The proposal stipulates that Member States be given six months after publication of the draft 
Regulation  to  set  up  the  necessary  technical  facilities  to  provide  direct  access.  This  implies 
that the functionality could be implemented under the current SIS system. 

To  make  it  possible  for  vehicle  registration  authorities  to  access  the  SIS  files  on  stolen 
vehicles, the Schengen Convention must be amended because, for data protection reasons, the 
Convention  specifically  identifies  the  authorities  that  have  the  right  to  access  the  SIS.  The 
regulation thus proposes to add a new article 102A to the Convention. The proposal is based 
on article 71 (1) (d) EC Treaty. The Parliament delivered its first reading opinion on 1 April 
2004,  proposing  10  amendments.  In  particular  Parliament  requested  a  yearly  report  on  the 
implementation of this regulation. Finally, to underline that increased access should only be 
possible with strengthened data protection rules it introduced the requirement to record every 
transmission. The Commission orally presented its position on the first reading amending and 
on  this  basis  the  Council  included  seven  out  of  ten  amendments  of  the  EP  in  its  Common 
Position. 
•  Date of decision by the Commission: 21.8.2003 

•  Date of the transmission of the Proposal to the Parliament and the Council: 21.8.2003 

•  Date of the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee : 25.2.2004 

•  First Reading of the European Parliament: 1.4.2004 

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•  Date  of  the  transmission  of  the  Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  European 
Parliament  pursuant  to  the  second  subparagraph  of  Article  251(2)  of  the  EC  Treaty 
concerning the common position of the Council (COM(2005)3 final): 10.1.2005  

•  Council Common Position: 22.12.2004 (by unanimity) 

•  Date of receipt of the Council’s common position by the European Parliament: 13.1.2005  

•  Second reading of the European Parliament: 28.4.2005 

2. 

OBJECTIVE OF THE PROPOSAL 

The general objective of the proposal is to amend the Schengen Convention to improve co-
operation between Member States and as a result the functioning of the internal market.  

The specific objectives are as follows:  

In the first place this proposal contributes to the realisation of the common transport policy by 
providing  Member  States  with  an  additional  operational  means  to  assist  each  with  re-
registration  of  vehicles  and  thus  to  facilitate  the  mutual  recognition  of  vehicle  registration 
certificates issued by another Member State.  

In the second place this proposal signifies a development of the Schengen acquis in the sense 
of Council Decision 1999/436/EC. It is a concrete contribution to a series of other initiatives 
developing the Schengen acquis aiming at augmenting the functionalities of the SIS.  

In the third place the proposal will contribute to the achievement of the goals formulated by 
the European Council of Tampere and reaffirmed by the Hague Programme endorsed by the 
European Council on November 2004 in view of strengthening of an area of freedom, security 
and  justice.  Notably,  the  proposal  also  contributes  to  combat  vehicle  theft  more  efficiently. 
This will be done by allowing under certain conditions national vehicle registration authorities 
to consult the SIS data registers on stolen vehicles and on stolen vehicle documents prior to 
registering  a  vehicle  that  is  already  registered  in  another  Schengen  State.  This  information 
will make it more difficult for thieves to sell stolen vehicles in other Schengen States. At the 
same time it will increase the chances for the victims of theft to reclaim their lost property.  

3. 

OPINION OF THE COMMISSION ON THE AMENDMENTS PROPOSED BY THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT 

During  the  second  reading  Parliament  adopted  3  amendments  and  the  Commission  fully 
accepts them. 

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Amendment 1 

RECITAL 3(3) 

Council Decision 2004/919/EC of  22 December 2004  on tackling vehicle crime with cross-
border  implications  includes  the  use  of  the  SIS  as  an  integral  part  of  the  law  enforcement 
strategy against vehicle crime. 

Amendment 1 updates the text in order to take account of the fact that the Dutch initiative to 
which  the  Council  Common  position  referred  to  in  recital  3  has  in  the  meantime  been 
adopted. 

Amendment 2 

RECITAL 13 A (new) (13a) 

As  regards  Switzerland,  this  Regulation  constitutes  a  development  of  the  provisions  of  the 
Schengen acquis within the meaning of the Agreement signed between the European Union, 
the  European  Community  and  the  Swiss  Confederation  concerning  the  association  of  the 
Swiss Confederation with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen 
acquis, which falls in the area referred to in Article 1, point G of Decision 1999/437/EC read 
in conjunction with Article 4(1) of Council Decision 2004/860/EC on the signing on behalf of 
the  European  Community,  and  on  the  provisional  application  of  certain  provisions  of  that 
Agreement. 

Amendment  2  is  introduced  to  take  account  of  Switzerland's  forthcoming  accession  to  the 
Schengen acquis on which this measure constitutes a development.  

Amendment 3 

ARTICLE 1 

Article 102 a, paragraph 3 a (new) (1990 Schengen Convention) 3a. Each year, after seeking 
the  opinion  of  the  joint  supervisory  authority  set  up  pursuant  to  Article  115  on  the  data 
protection  rules,  the  Council  shall  submit  a  report  to  the  European  Parliament  on  the 
implementation of this Article. This report shall include information and statistics relating 
to  the  use  and  results  of  the  implementation  of  this  Article  and  shall  state  how  the  data 
protection rules were applied.  

Amendment 3 requests an annual report from the Council to the EP about the implementation 
of the proposed access to vehicle registration authorities to combat vehicle crime.  

Amendment 3 is now acceptable for the Commission since modifies the wording of previous 
AM  10  (first  reading)  in  two  aspects:  first,  it  is  proposed  that  the  Council  and  not  the 
Commission sends the report to the EP. In fact, the Commission has no responsibility for the 
management  of  the  current  SIS.  Second,  a  general  wording  is  introduced  to  clarify  that  the 
preparation  of  these  statistics  will  not  imply  for  the  Member  States  to  introduce  technical 
changes at national level. In fact, the report will generally include “information and statistics 
relating to the use and results of the implementation of this Article”. 

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4. 

CONCLUSION 

Pursuant to Article 250(2) of the EC Treaty, the Commission amends its proposal as set out 
above. 

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