§ Mr. MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, pursuant to his answer of 29 October,Official Report, column 823, concerning border controls, what powers he will possess on activation of the Protocol of the Amsterdam treaty in respect of (a) citizens of the European Union and (b) nationals of member states of the European Economic Area, additional to verification of identity by personal travel documents. [15289]
§ Ms QuinPowers for immigration officers to examine identity documents of passengers arriving in the United Kingdom are contained in Schedule 2 to the Immigration Act 1971. Schedule 2 applies to the examination of European Economic Area (EEA) nationals in accordance with Article 20(2)(e) of the Immigration (European Economic Area) Order 1994. Article 3 of that Order provides that (subject to article 15(1) of the Order) an EEA national will be admitted to the United Kingdom on production, on arrival, of a valid national identity card or passport issued by another EEA State and, if required, proof that he is the family member of an EEA national. "EEA nationals" includes all nationals of the European Economic Area, including European Community nationals, except British citizens. No new powers are conferred by the Protocol, which instead confirms the United Kingdom's (and Ireland's) rights to conduct checks on persons at the internal frontiers of the European Union.