§ Mr. RosindellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on United Kingdom participation in the second generation Schengen information system. [14808]
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§ Angela EagleIn accordance with Council decision 2000/365/EC on the United Kingdom's partial participation in the Schengen acquis, the United Kingdom will participate in those aspects of the Schengen Information System (SIS) which relate to police and judicial co-operation, excluding Article 96 data on persons for immigration purposes. The United Kingdom is in the process of implementing the present system (SIS 1+) as part of its overall partial implementation of the Schengen acquis in the United Kingdom.
The United Kingdom will participate in development of the second generation SIS(SIS II) for the same purposes.
The Justice and Home Affairs Council adopted, at its meeting on 6–7 December, a regulation under the treaty establishing the European Community and a decision under the treaty on European Union on funding of the development of SIS II from the community budget; the United Kingdom has opted in to the adoption of the regulation in accordance with its title IV Protocol. A recital to both decisions makes it clear that the United Kingdom's participation is without prejudice to the arrangements set out in Council decision 2000/365/EC.
While the primary aim of the next generation system (SIS II) is to increase its capacity for the new member state upon enlargement, the Council is also examining the scope for SIS II to have an increased range of functions and for a wider range of authorities to have access to SIS data.