§ Mr. RosindellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the purpose of Council Document 11896/01, amending UK participation in the Schengen Agreement. [39658]
§ Mr. Bob AinsworthCouncil Document 11896–01 contains a proposal to amend Article 40.1 and 40.7 of the Schengen Convention. It is currently under negotiation within the Justice and Home Affairs Council and has been deposited for scrutiny by the European Scrutiny Committees of both Houses.
The purpose of the proposed amendments is to remove existing restrictions to the operation of cross-border surveillance between participating member states. The proposal would amend Article 40.1 to allow cross-border surveillance not only of the person suspected of having taken part in an extraditable criminal offence but also of other persons in the context of the criminal investigation. Article 40.7 would be amended to extend the list of extraditable offences for which cross-border surveillance may be carried out. Adoption of the proposal will be subject to unanimity. The United Kingdom (UK) broadly supports the amendment. Implementation in the UK will be subject to the requirements of Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) and practical operation will be subject to UK police control.
The terms in which the UK will participate in certain areas of the Schengen Convention are set out in the council decision of 29 May 2000 (2000/365/EC). The UK will participate in Article 40 of the Schengen Convention and under the terms of Article 8 of the decision of 29 May 2000, the UK is participating in the adoption of the 522W amendment. Preparation for UK participation in the specified areas of Schengen are under way, and will be subject to parliamentary scrutiny.