Regulation (EU) 2017/458

to introduce a targeted amendment to Regulation (EC) No 562/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a Community Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders (Schengen Borders Code) in order to increase security within the area without internal border control. PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the council. ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council. BACKGROUND: control at external borders remains one of the main safeguards of the area without controls at internal borders. The phenomenon of foreign terrorist fighters , many of whom are Union citizens, demonstrates the necessity to strengthen the checks at external borders with regard to Union citizens. The Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs adopted the report by Monica MACOVEI (ECR, RO) on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 562/2006 as regards the reinforcement of checks against relevant databases at external borders. The committee recommended that the European Parliament’s position adopted at first reading following the ordinary legislative procedure should amend the Commission proposal as follows: Respect for Fundamental Rights : it is recalled that the implementation of the Regulation shall take account the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) as well as all Union law relating to data protection. It is also stated that border checks shall be carried out in such a way as to fully respect human dignity and that that should be carried out in a professional and respectful manner and should be proportionate to the objectives pursued. Access to relevant databases : in order to guarantee security of the Union’s external borders, Member States shall ensure that their competent authorities (including their border guards): have an electronic connection to Interpol 's Stolen and Lost Travel Documents database (SLTD ) at external border crossing points; have access to the relevant national and European data banks, including the Schengen Information System (SIS) and the Europol Information System (EIS). In this regard, it is stated that Member States that are not in the Schengen area and whose borders constitute the external borders should be fully integrated into SIS in order to conduct better border management and help preserve the security of the Union. Targeted checks : as a general rule, systematic checks should be carried out at all external borders. However, if these checks have a disproportionate impact on the flow of traffic, the Member States concerned may carry out those checks on a targeted basis , provided that an assessment of the risks shows that this derogation will not harm the internal security of the Union. Such risk assessment should be based on a set of common risk indicators developed by the Commission , in close cooperation with Frontex. It should be possible for border…

Official title: Regulation (EU) 2017/458 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2017 amending Regulation (EU) 2016/399 as regards the reinforcement of checks against relevant databases at external borders

Summary extracted from the European Parliament's own per-stage procedure record. Data © European Union (Decision 2011/833/EU). Methodology.