HC Deb 12 April 2000 vol 348 cc235-6W
Mr. Mitchell

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if participation in the Schengen information system by the United Kingdom will require the United Kingdom to opt into an agreement based on(a) Title IV of the Treaty of the European Community or (b) other European treaties. [117406]

Mrs. Roche

Participation by the United Kingdom in the Schengen Information System (SIS) will require the exercise of the United Kingdom's opt-in under Article 4 of the Protocol integrating the Schengen acquis into the framework of the European Union, annexed to the Treaty of Amsterdam. The Government have submitted a request under this provision for participation in aspects of the Schengen acquis, including the SIS, and we are currently awaiting its approval. The SIS has been allocated to a legal base in the Treaty on European Union.