Duo join forces on Schengen

The UK and Ireland are to put pressure on other member states to allow them access to Schengen zone biometric databases.

During their first meeting this week (16 July) UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his Irish counterpart, Bertie Ahern, promised to join forces to persuade the other 25 states to share intelligence with them when new EU biometric passports come on stream in 2009.

British and Irish passports will be similar to those introduced in the rest of the EU but because the UK and Ireland have chosen not to be part of the open-border Schengen system they will not have automatic access to the databases storing the information.

"We want to see that sharing of information extend not just across the other 25 countries of the European Union, but extend to us in Britain and Ireland as well," said Brown.

"Anything we can do about harmonising rules that make that more efficient, all the better," Ahern said. "It is an area where it is in everybody’s interests to fight against crime, to fight against drugs, to fight against organised criminals who make vast amounts of money."

But member states and the European Commission are likely to resist moves to allow authorities in London and Dublin automatic access because they oppose the UK and Ireland’s piece-meal approach to the Schengen system.

The UK has, supported by Ireland, taken a case against the Council of Ministers to the European Court of Justice, complaining of being left out of the databases. Last week (11 July) an advocate-general’s opinion supported the Council’s position.

The Commission, which intervened in the case on behalf of the Council, has stressed the "integrity of the Schengen acquis". "We don’t want too much ‘à la carte’," said a Commission spokesman. He said both countries had the chance to opt in to Schengen and other forms of justice and home affairs co-operation at an EU summit in June which reached agreement on the broad outline of a new reform treaty, but chose not to.

The UK and Ireland are to put pressure on other member states to allow them access to Schengen zone biometric databases.