Delays hinder free-travel zone

Date: 20/06/1996

By Thomas Klau

AS the Schengen Convention's executive committee gears up for its final Dutch presidency meeting next week, officials in Brussels have acknowledged that the creation of a genuine free-travel zone between the convention's ten signatory countries might well be delayed until late 1997 or beyond.

Although the new Italian government approved fresh draft legislation on data and privacy protection - one of the conditions for active participation in the Schengen Convention - early in June, observers say they do not expect the parliamentary procedure in Rome to be completed before autumn 1996, or even spring 1997.

Even then, officials stress, Italy would still have to fulfil the technical border control and electronic data transmission requirements without which the other Schengen members will not allow it to participate in their free travel arrangement.

As in the case of Italy, implementation of the Schengen agreement in Greece has been delayed by the lack of adequate data and privacy protection rules.

The new government in Athens is still working on its draft for new legislation, suggesting that full Greek participation in the Schengen accord remains a long way off.

Even in Austria, where all the legal conditions for implementing the accord have been met, an application for full participation in the convention's provisions is not expected before sometime next year, as the administration is still working towards meeting the high technical standard of external border controls required of Schengen members.

Austria's task is particularly daunting as it shares a long border with the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia, all of which are prime transit countries for illegal immigration into the Union.

The continued delays in getting all the signatories to the convention to participate fully in its implementation - 15 months after the agreement officially entered into force in March last year - will be a disappointment to those who believe that member states which have not yet signed up to the accord will not even contemplate doing so until the Schengen zone is fully operational.

Only then will those who have already fulfilled their treaty obligation to provide for the free movement of people within the Union's borders be able to demonstrate to those still outside that their fears about abolishing passport checks on EU travellers are unfounded.

The credibility of the initiative has also been undermined by France's persistent refusal to abandon the systematic control of its borders with Belgium and Luxembourg, which Paris has insisted are necessary because of the Dutch government's policy of tolerating the sale of soft drugs.

France is coming under growing pressure to ease its stance and officials say the issue will be discussed in Paris a few days ahead of next Thursday's (27 June) executive committee meeting. But Belgian sources say they have received no indications from Paris that it might be considering modifying its policy.

At next week's meeting in The Hague, ministers will also be presented with a draft association agreement with Norway and Iceland after negotiations with both countries officially started earlier this week.

The association agreement is designed to be comprehensive enough to let both Nordic nations participate in all key Schengen arrangements, such as a common visa policy, the abolition of systematic internal border controls and cooperation in police matters.

These first full cooperation agreements with two non-EU countries will enable Denmark, Finland and Sweden to become full Schengen members without abolishing the long-standing Nordic Passport Union.

The rotating Schengen presidency, meanwhile, will switch at the end of this month from the Netherlands to Luxembourg, which will hold it until December 1996.