§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the impact of Greek participation in the Schengen Agreement on the future level of illegal immigration to Western European states by Albanian nationals; and what recent representations he has made on this issue. [123629]
§ Mrs. RocheThe evaluation of Greece's readiness to participate in Schengen arrangements was made by the existing Schengen stales, which did not include the United Kingdom. That evaluation covered the question of security of Greece's external frontiers. The Schengen arrangements, as incorporated within Treaty structures, provide for a continuing process of evaluation by participating states of adherence to the Schengen acquis, including the maintenance of the external frontiers of the Schengen area. The United Kingdom's participation in the Schengen agreement does not include external frontier arrangements and our participation in the evaluation process is limited to those areas in which we will ourselves participate. We shall continue to operate our own controls to tackle illegal immigration in the way that best suits our national circumstances. The Government have not, therefore, made any representations on this issue to European Union partners.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if his Department will compile a list of those(a) elements of acquis, (b) working documents and (c) reports, pertaining to Schengen, to which his Department has to date not had access. [123622]
§ Mrs. RocheWe have had access to all the Schengen acquis as defined in Council Decision 1999/435/EC. Since the incorporation of the acquis into the Treaty on European Union, the United Kingdom as a member of the Council sees all Council working documents and reports.