Source: http://www.aria-law.com/Data-View.aspx?lang=en&id=7569
Timestamp: 2020-06-02 07:51:12
Document Index: 436275609

Matched Legal Cases: ['art. 4', 'art. 4', 'art. 77', 'art. 2', 'art. 77', 'art. 4', 'art. 7', 'art. 5', 'art. 23', 'art1', 'art. 7', 'art. 7', 'art. 5', 'art. 13', 'art. 4', 'art. 22', 'art. 22', 'art. 24', 'art. 4', 'art. 5', 'art. 9', 'art. 2']

Library: Citizenship Pathways and Border Protection: EU Schengen Area
Since 1999, the Schengen acquis (body of law) has been incorporated into the legal framework of the European Union. Core provisions of the Schengen Borders Code, established by Regulation No. 562/2006, are the lifting of the internal borders between Schengen countries and the parallel strengthening of the external borders of the Schengen area. Lifting of the internal borders guarantees the free movement of EU citizens and qualified third-country nationals. Third-country nationals are subject to thorough checks when entering and exiting the Schengen area, while EU citizens and others who enjoy the right to free movement are subject to minimum checks for identity purposes. A key feature of the Schengen area is the Schengen Information System (SIS), a large database used by competent national authorities to maintain public safety and security within the Schengen area and provide effective management of the external border. Participating countries are mainly responsible for managing their external borders, while they are allowed to enter into bilateral agreements with neighboring states for implementing a local border regime. Moreover, Schengen countries retain the right to reimpose internal controls for six months in exceptional cases.
Visa issuance for third-country nationals in the Schengen area is harmonized throughout the area based on EU regulations. Third-country nationals must also meet additional criteria for entry into the Schengen area.
In February 2013, in an effort to facilitate and reinforce border control procedures, the European Commission proposed two new border protection measures: (1) an entry/exit system (EES), consisting of a centralized system for the registration of entry and exit data of third-country nationals crossing the external borders of the EU Member States, and (2) a Registered Traveler Program (RTP), which would allow frequent travelers to follow simplified border checks. The EES system is designed to combat illegal immigration by identifying those who overstay their visas and those who no longer meet the criteria for staying legally in the Schengen area.
The Schengen area, which is considered as the greatest achievement of European integration, is an area composed of twenty-six European countries with no internal borders; free movement of EU citizens, their families, and qualified third-country nationals; and a common external border.[1] It is the product of intergovernmental cooperation of the original signatories to the Schengen Agreement, which was signed on June 14, 1985, by the three Benelux countries—Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg—as well as France and West Germany.[2] As envisioned, the key objective of the Schengen Agreement was to gradually eliminate the border controls between them and at the same time establish more secure external borders. A Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement was signed on June 19, 1990.[3] It established detailed rules on the abolition of internal border controls, equivalent measures to strengthen the external borders, and procedures for issuing uniform visas. A key feature of the Schengen area is the Schengen Information System (SIS), used by national customs, police, judicial authorities, and border guards to retrieve and exchange information on missing or wanted persons, stolen vehicles, or documents.[4]
The Schengen Convention and Agreement were further incorporated into the framework of the European Union and have been part of the EU body of law since 1999 pursuant to a protocol attached to the Amsterdam Treaty.[5] Since then, the function of the Schengen area has been subject to a number of changes. The Council of the EU has replaced the Executive Committee established by the Schengen Agreement and also incorporated the Schengen Secretariat into the General Secretariat of the Council[6] The Council has also spelled out the contents of the Schengen acquis in conformity with the relevant provisions of EU treaties.[7]
Finally, under the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, which amended the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), the Schengen acquis was incorporated into the EU system on the basis of Protocol No. 19.[8]
The success of the Schengen system depends on continuous, effective cooperation between participating States in securing their external borders by applying strict controls at land, sea, and airport borders; issuing a uniform set of visas; and ensuring collaboration among law enforcement authorities.[13] New EU Members must also fully accept the Schengen acquis and any measure taken pursuant thereto.[14]
Schengen rules were integrated within the legal framework of the EU through article 2 of the Treaty of Amsterdam, which inserted Title IV on “Visas, asylum, immigration and other policies related to free movement of persons.” Title IV was substantially amended, became Title V, and was renamed “Area of Freedom, Security and Justice” by the Treaty of Lisbon of 2009, which amended the Treaty on European Union and the TFEU. Article 77 of Title V of the Lisbon Treaty authorizes the EU to develop an EU policy on visas and immigration to
a) ensure the absence of any controls irrespective of nationality when crossing the internal borders,
c) gradually introduce an integrated management system for external borders.[15]
In implementation of the above mandate, the EU adopted Regulation No. 562/2006 establishing a Community Code on the Rules Governing the Movement of Persons Across Borders, the Schengen Borders Code (SBC).[16] The SBC repealed the relevant provisions of the Schengen Convention, three Schengen Executive Committee decisions on borders, the Common Manual as amended by EU measures, and other EU legislation.[17]
The SBC establishes detailed rules governing two specific instances: (1) the absence of border controls for persons crossing the internal borders between the EU Member States; and (2) border controls for persons crossing the external borders of the EU Member States.
Ireland and the United Kingdom do not participate in the SBC. Bulgaria, Cyprus, and Romania do not fully apply the SBC’s provisions on the internal borders and do not use the SIS system. Denmark participates because it has aligned its national legislation. Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland apply the Code.[18]
? EU citizens and third-country nationals who are family members of an EU citizen and who fall within the scope of Directive 2004/38/EC on the right of free movement[21]
? Third-country nationals and their family members, irrespective of nationality, who because of agreements concluded between the EU and its Members and their countries of origin have a right of free movement equivalent to that enjoyed by EU citizens[22]
Under Regulation (EC) 1931/2006, Schengen countries have the option of concluding bilateral agreements with neighboring third countries that derogate from border controls for people living in their border areas in order to promote social and cultural interchange and strengthen regional cooperation.[23] Residents of border areas may cross the external borders of a neighboring country, provided that they have a local border traffic permit and a travel document if required by relevant agreements and do not pose a threat to the security, public safety, and health of the Schengen countries.[24] The territorial validity of a border permit is limited to the border area of the issuing country.[25] The maximum stay, as provided for in the agreements, may be up to three months.[26]
Temporary Reintroduction of Control at Internal Borders
In September 2011, the Commission proposed to amend the SBC and called for more “EU-based governance” to assess the implementation of Schengen rules. The Commission suggested that Commission experts should make announced or unannounced visits at border-crossing points to evaluate the implementation of Schengen rules. Consequently, the reintroduction of border controls would be decided at the EU level, rather than at the level of the Member States.[32] On June 7, 2012, the Home Affairs Ministers reached an agreement that gave national governments the right to reintroduce controls at internal borders in unforeseen emergencies without the consent of the Commission or the Parliament.[33]
The external borders of the Schengen area cover 8,826 kilometers (about 5,484 miles) of land borders and close to 42,672 km (26,515 miles) of external sea borders.[34] In 2005, the EU established a European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union (Frontex).[35] While EU Members retain primary responsibility for the security and surveillance of their borders, Frontex is also responsible for the effective application of EU rules related to external border management. Among Frontex’s duties is the carrying out of risk analyses, coordinating operational cooperation between Members, and deploying Rapid Border Intervention Teams to Member States when faced with a big influx of third-country nationals attempting to enter their territories illegally.[36]
Individuals who wish to enter the EU may cross the borders at border-crossing points. Each EU Member has designated its border-crossing points for the Commission.[37] Persons who enjoy the right of free movement are subject to minimum checks to ensure their identity.[38] Third-country nationals, however, are subject to thorough checks, which include inter alia checks on required documents and residence permits, scrutiny of travel documents, and checks of entry or exit stamps.[39]
* have a valid travel document
* have a visa if they come from a country whose nationals must be in possession of a visa, pursuant to Regulation No. 539/2001[41]
* have reasons for stay and sufficient financial means to support themselves during the stay and for the return trip[42]
Rules on visas have been harmonized throughout the Schengen area to ensure that individuals who enter the Schengen area meet visa requirements. The following regulations, which are directly applicable within the legal systems of the Schengen countries, govern the matter:
* Regulation (EC) No. 810/2009 Establishing a Community Code on Visas lays down the procedures and conditions for issuing short stay visas and airport transit visas[52]
* Regulation (EC) No. 539/2001 on List of Third Countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders and those whose nationals are exempt from the requirement[53]
* Council Regulation (EC) No. 1683/95 Laying Down a Uniform Format for Visas[54]
* Regulation (EC) No. 767/2008 on the Visa Information System (VIS),[55] which facilitates the exchange of data between Schengen countries pertaining to applications and issuance of short-stay visas, composed of a central IT system that communicates and is accessible by national systems[56]
On February 28, 2013, the European Commission, as a follow-up to its 2011 Communication on “Smart Borders–Options and the Way Ahead,”[60] proposed two new border protection measures: (1) a centralized Entry/Exit System (EES) for the registration of entry and exit data of third-country nationals crossing the external borders of the EU Members for a short stay;[61] and (2) a Registered Traveler Program (RTP). The stated reason for the proposed EES is to combat illegal immigration and to strengthen the management and protection of the external borders of the Schengen area. The RTP is intended to facilitate border crossing for those frequent travelers from third-countries who have already been screened.
Currently, at the EU level, there is no method for calculating the number of irregular immigrants, the majority of whom have overstayed their visas. Current estimates indicate that there are between 1.9–3.8 million irregular immigrants in the EU. In 2010, the Commission reported that only 505,220 irregular immigrants were caught.[62] The Schengen Borders Code does not require the registration of a third-country national’s cross-border movements. Currently, travel documents of such individuals are stamped by border guards at the entry and exit points of the Schengen area. This is the only tool that can be used by border guards and immigration officials to calculate the duration of stay of a third-country national. The existing SIS and VIS databases, described above, have not been designed to register cross-border movement.
Consequently, as the Commission identified in its Explanatory Memorandum to the EES proposal, there are no electronic means to find out where and when a third-country national has entered or left the Schengen area. Thirteen Members—Bulgaria, Estonia, Spain, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, and Finland—have developed their own entry/exit systems and collect alphanumeric data (that is, data represented by letters, digits, or punctuation marks) on the people entering their territories.[63] However, as the Commission pointed out, these systems can detect an overstay only in cases of third-country nationals who exit the same Member State that they entered.
* calculation of the duration of the authorized stay of third-country nationals,
* identification of any person who may no longer meet the criteria for entry or stay within the territories of the Member States,
* identification of those who overstay their visas, and
* collection of statistics on the entries and exits of third-country nationals.[65]
Pursuant to the proposal, the RTP would consist of a “token-Central Repository” system for the storage of data on registered travelers, which would operate through the use of tokens kept by the individual travelers, and the Central Repository, which would be a centrally located physical storage of the RTP data.[69] Third-country nationals who wished to participate in the RTP would need to be at least twelve years old and provide reasons or a need for travelling often for business, family, or other purposes. Third-country nationals who held a multiple-entry visa, a residence permit, or a visa valid for at least one year would qualify for the program and be accepted, if they wished to participate.
[4] Schengen Information System (SIS), European Commission, Home Affairs, http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/what-we-do/policies/borders-and-visas/schengen-information-system/index_en.htm (last updated Aug. 31, 2012).
[5] Treaty of Amsterdam Amending the Treaty on European Union, the Treaties Establishing the European Communities and Certain Related Acts, Oct. 2, 1997, 1997 O.J. (C 340) 1, http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUri Serv/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:1997:340:0001:0144:EN:PDF.
[11] Protocol No. 19, supra note 8, art. 4.
[12] Protocol (No. 22) on the Position of Denmark art. 4, 2012 O.J. (C 326) 299, http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2012:326:0201:0330:EN:PDF.
[15] Consolidated Version of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) art. 77, 2012 O.J. (C 326) 47, http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2012:326:FULL:EN:PDF.
[16] Regulation (EC) No. 562/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2006 Establishing a Community Code on the Rules Governing the Movement of Persons Across Borders (Schengen Borders Code [SBC]), 2006 O.J. (L 105) 1, http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2006:105:0001: 0032:EN:PDF.
[18] Id. Recital 25.
[19] Id. art. 2, para. 1.
[20] TFEU, supra note 15, art. 77, para. 4.
[24] Id. art. 4.
[25] Id. art. 7, para. 2.
[26] Id. art. 5.
[27] SBC, supra note 16, art. 23.
[28] Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council, Second Biannual Report on the Functioning of the Schengen Area, 1 May 2012 – 31 October 2012, at 3, COM (2012) 686 final 11/23/1012 http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/what-is-new/news/pdf/2_en_act_part1_v7_schengen.pdf.
[30] Anna Sonny, Comment, Schengen Disputes Continues, Civitas (Institute for the Study of Civil Society) (Feb. 8, 2013), http://civitas.org.uk/newblog/2013/02/schengen-dispute-continues/.
[33] Toby Vogel, Disputed Borders, European Voice.com (June 14, 2012), http://www.europeanvoice.com/ article/imported/disputed-borders/74600.aspx.
[34] 1 Visas and Border Controls: EU Immigration and Asylum Law 119 (Steve Peers et al. eds., 2012).
[35] The name “Frontex” is derived from the French frontieres exterieures (external borders). Id. at 119 n.2. Regulation (EC) No. 2007/2004 Establishing a European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union, 2004 O.J. (L 349) 1, http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/site/en/oj/2004/l_349/l_34920041125en00010011.pdf.
[38] Id. art. 7, para. 2.
[39] Id. art. 7, para. 3, (i)–(iii).
[40] Id. art. 5, para. 1(d)–(e).
[41] Council Regulation (EC) No. 539/2001 of 15 March 2001 Listing the Third Countries Whose Nationals Must Be in Possession of Visas When Crossing the External Borders and Those Whose Nationals Are Exempt from That Requirement, 2001 O.J. (L 81) 1, http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2001:081: 0001:0007:EN:PDF.
[44] Id. art. 13(3).
[45] Council Decision 2001/886/JHA of 6 December 2001 on the Development of the Second Generation Schengen Information System (SIS II), 2001 O.J. (L 328) 1, http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ. do?uri=OJ:L:2001:328:0001:0003:EN:PDF.
[47] Id. art. 4.
[48] Id. art. 22(a).
[49] Id. art. 22(c).
[50] Id. art. 24, para. 2.
[52] Regulation (EC) No. 810/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 Establishing a Community Code on Visas (Visa Code), 2009 O.J. (L 243) 1, http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/ LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2009:243:0001:0058:EN:PDF.
[53] Regulation (EC) No. 539/2001 Listing the Third Countries Whose Nationals Must Be in Possession of Visas When Crossing the External Borders and Those Whose Nationals are Exempt from that Requirement, 2001 O.J. (L 81) 1, http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2001:081:0001:0007:EN:PDF.
[64] Id. art. 4
[66] Id. Recital 8.
[67] Id. art. 5.
[68] Id. art. 9.
[69] Id. art. 2, para. 1.
Tags:Citizenship EU Schengen Area Immigration Law Rights
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