§ Mr. MacleanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his oral answer to the right hon. and learned Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Mr. Howard) of 16 March 1999,Official Report, column 868, on Spain, what is the legal basis for his statement that no country has a veto on a United Kingdom application to join in arrangements made under the Schengen agreement. [78399]
§ Ms QuinUnder Article 5 of the Protocol integrating the Schengen acquis into the framework of the European Union, the United Kingdom will be free to participate in any future Schengen-based co-operation. Under Article 4 of that Protocol, it is only in respect of existing Schengen provisions (the "Schengen acquis") that a request by the United Kingdom to take part will be subject to the unanimous approval of the thirteen Schengen States.