on the proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council repealing certain acts in the field of police cooperation and judicial cooperation in criminal matters

(COM(2014)0714 – C8‑0279/2014 – 2014/0338(COD))

(Ordinary legislative procedure: first reading)

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2014)0714),

–  having regard to Article 294(2) and Article  82(1)(d) and Article 87(2)(a) and (c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C8‑0279/2014),

–  having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

–  having regard to Rules 59 and 50(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

–  having regard to the report of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (A8-0251/2015),

1.  Adopts its position at first reading hereinafter set out;

2.  Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it intends to amend its proposal substantially or replace it with another text;

3.  Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

Amendment    1

AMENDMENTS BY THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT(1)*

to the Commission proposal

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REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

repealing certain acts in the field of police cooperation and judicial cooperation in criminal matters (Schengen acquis)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 82(1)(d) and Article 87(2)(a) and (c) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national Parliaments,

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure,

Whereas:

(1)  Improving the transparency of Union law is an essential element of the better law-making strategy that the institutions of the Union are implementing. In that context it is appropriate to remove from the legislation in force those acts which no longer serve any purpose.

(2)  A number of acts adopted in the field of police cooperation and judicial cooperation in criminal matters, and belonging to the Schengen acquis, are no longer relevant due to their temporary nature or because their content has been taken up by successive acts, even though they have not been repealed.

(3)  Decision of the Executive Committee SCH/Com-ex (93)14(2) aimed at improving practical judicial cooperation for combating drug trafficking only for cases of refusal of cooperation by a Member State. That decision became obsolete since entry into force of the Convention on Mutual assistance in Criminal matters between the Member States of the European Union(3) that provides for a broader co-operation among Member States in the drug policy.

(4)  Declaration of the Executive Committee SCH/Com-ex (97) decl. 13 rev 2(4) addressed the situations of the abductions of minors or the unlawful removal of a minor by one of the parents from the person to whom the right of custody has been attributed. That declaration became obsolete after the entry into force of Regulation (EC) No 562/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5) and Commission Implementing Decision 2013/115/EU(6) providing for new rules on the check of minors crossing an external border and in relation to the corresponding activities of the SIRENE bureaus.

(5)  Decision of the Executive Committee SCH/Com-ex (98) 52(7) adopted the Schengen handbook on cross-border police cooperation assisting Member States in carrying out cross-border operations. That decision became obsolete after the handbook's content has been included in the more recent Updated catalogue of recommendations for the correct application of the Schengen acquis and best practices: police cooperation, Handbook on cross-border operations and Compendium on law enforcement liaison officers.

(5a)  Decision of the Executive Committee SCH/Com-ex (99)11 Rev. 2(8) adopted an agreement on cooperation regarding road traffic offences. That agreement was not only concluded between certain Member States but also with two third countries (Iceland and Norway). Therefore, it is not an internal act of the Schengen acquis. In addition, it has never entered into force and none of the Member States have made a declaration under Article 20(3) regarding the application of the agreement between those Member States who have ratified it. Therefore, this instrument has no relevance and should be repealed.

(6)  Council Decision 2008/173/JHA(9) set out the detailed scope, organization, coordination and validation procedures for certain tests aiming at assessing whether the Schengen Information System II (SIS II) complies with the technical and functional requirements as defined in the SIS II legal instruments. That decision exhausted its legal effect once the SIS II started operation on 9 April 2013.

(7)  For reasons of legal certainty and clarity, those obsolete Decisions and Declarations should be repealed.

(8)  Since the objective of this Regulation, namely the repeal of a number of obsolete Union acts in the field of police cooperation and judicial cooperation in criminal matters and belonging to the Schengen acquis, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States but can rather be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with ▌the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective.

(9)  In accordance with Article 1 of the Protocol No 22 on the position of Denmark, annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Denmark is not taking part in the adoption of this Regulation and is not bound by it or subject to its application. Given that this Regulation builds upon the Schengen acquis, Denmark shall, in accordance with Article 4 of that Protocol, decide within a period of six months after the Council has decided on this Regulation whether it will implement it in its national law.

(10)  This Regulation constitutes a development of the provisions of the Schengen acquis in which Ireland is taking part in accordance with Article 5(1) of ▌Protocol No 19 on the Schengen acquis integrated into the framework of the European Union annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and Article 6(2) of Council Decision 2002/192/EC(10).

(11)  Following the notification made by the United Kingdom on 24 July 2013, in accordance with the first sentence of the first subparagraph of Article 10(4) of Protocol No 36 on transitional provisions, the obsolete Decisions and Declarations referred to above have ceased to apply to the United Kingdom as from 1 December 2014, pursuant to the second sentence of the first subparagraph of Article 10(4) of that Protocol. The United Kingdom is therefore not taking part in the adoption of this Regulation and is not bound by it or subject to its application.

(12)  As regards Iceland and Norway, this Regulation constitutes a development of the provisions of the Schengen acquis within the meaning of the Agreement concluded by the Council of the European Union and the Republic of Iceland and the Kingdom of Norway concerning the latters' association with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis(11) which fall within the area referred to in Article 1 of Council Decision 1999/437/EC(12).

(13)  As regards Switzerland, this Regulation constitutes a development of the provisions of the Schengen acquis within the meaning of the Agreement concluded between the European Union, the European Community and the Swiss Confederation concerning the association of the Swiss Confederation with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis(13), which fall within the area referred to in Article 1 of Decision 1999/437/EC read in conjunction with Article 3 of Council Decision 2008/149/JHA(14).

(14)  As regards Liechtenstein, this Regulation constitutes a development of the provisions of the Schengen acquis within the meaning of the Protocol between the European Union, the European Community, the Swiss Confederation and the Principality of Liechtenstein on the accession of the Principality of Liechtenstein to the Agreement between the European Union, the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on the Swiss Confederation’s association with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis(15), which fall within the area referred to in Article 1 of Decision 1999/437/EC read in conjunction with Article 3 of Council Decision 2011/349/EU(16),

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Repeal of obsolete acts

The following acts are repealed:

-  Decision SCH/Com-ex (93) 14 (combating drug trafficking);

-  ▌ Declaration ▌SCH/Com-ex (97) decl. 13 rev 2 (abduction of minors);

-  Decision SCH/Com-ex (98) 52 (police handbook);

-  Decision SCH/Com-ex (99) 11 Rev. 2 (road traffic offences) and

-  ▌Council Decision 2008/173/JHA (SIS II tests).

Article 2

Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in the Member States in accordance with the Treaties.

Done at Brussels,

For the European Parliament  For the Council

The President  The President

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

In the context of the expiry of the transitional period set out in Protocol 36 on transitional provisions annexed to the Treaties the Commission has performed an assessment of the Schengen acquis and of the legal instruments in the field of police cooperation and judicial cooperation in criminal matters. A number of acts have been identified as obsolete because their content has been taken up by successive acts or because they have temporary nature.

In the Inter-institutional Agreement of 16 December 2003 the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission agreed on reducing the volume of and simplifying the Union law, including by means of repealing obsolete acts.

On the basis of its screening and in line with the commitments in the Inter-institutional agreement on better law-making and the its policy on Regulatory Fitness(17), the Commission submitted a proposal to repeal as obsolete decisions of the Executive Committee SCH/Com-ex (93) 14 (combatting drug trafficking) and (98) 52 (police handbook), Declaration of the Executive Committee SCH/Com-ex (97) decl. 13 rev 2 (abduction of minors) and Council Decision 2008/173/JHA of 18 February 2018 on the tests of the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II).

In line with a corresponding amendment proposed by the Council in its General Approach and agreed by the Commission, the rapporteur proposes to include in the list of repealed acts Decision of the Executive Committee SCH/Com-ex (99) 11 rev 2 on the Agreement on cooperation in proceedings for road traffic offences. The reason to repeal this Decision stems from the fact that this agreement has never entered into force and none of the Member States have made a declaration under Article 20(3) regarding the application of the agreement between States who have ratified it. In addition, it cannot be considered as an internal act of the Schengen acquis because it was not concluded only between EU Member States but also with two third States (Iceland and Norway).

In view of the amendments proposed by the Council to this Commission proposal and after consulting the European Parliament's Legal Service, the rapporteur proposes to change the type of the act from 'decision' to 'regulation'. In accordance with the Article 288 TFEU a regulation is binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States and will better serve the purpose of the proposal to repeal the acts deemed to be obsolete.

The rapporteur suggests also several amendments aiming at improving the drafting of the act, including an addition in the title specifying that the repealed acts in question belong to the Schengen acquis, and amendments adapting the recitals to the UK's position after the expiry of the transitional period set out in Protocol No 36 to the Treaties.

PROCEDURE

(1) * *   Amendments: new or amended text is highlighted in bold italics; deletions are indicated by the symbol ▌. (2)   Decision of the Executive Committee of 14 December 1993 on improving practical judicial cooperation for combating drug trafficking (SCH/Com-ex (93) 14) (OJ L 239, 22.9.2000, p. 427) (3)   Convention of 29 May 2000, established by the Council in accordance with Article 34 of the Treaty on European Union, on Mutual assistance in Criminal matters between the Member States of the European Union (OJ C 197, 12.7.2000, p. 3) and Protocol to the Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters between the Member States of the European Union established by the Council in accordance with Article 34 of the Treaty on European Union (OJ C 326, 21.11.2001, p. 1). (4)   Declaration of the Executive Committee of 9 February 1998 on the abduction of minors (SCH/Com-ex (97) decl. 13 rev 2) (OJ L 239, 22.9.2000, p. 436). (5)   Regulation (EC) No 562/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2006 establishing a Community Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders (Schengen Borders Code) (OJ L 105, 13.4.2006, p. 1). (6)   Commission Implementing Decision 2013/115/EU of 26 February 2013 on the Sirene Manual and other implementing measures for the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II) (OJ L 71, 14.3.2013, p. 1). (7)   Decision of the Executive Committee of 16 December 1998 on the Handbook on cross-border police cooperation (SCH/Com-ex (98) 52) (OJ L 239, 22.9.2000, p. 408). (8)   Decision of the Executive Committee of 28 April 1999 on the Agreement on cooperation in proceedings for road traffic offences (SCH/Com-ex (99)11 Rev. 2) (OJ L 239, 22.9.2000, p. 428). (9)   Council Decision 2008/173/JHA of 18 February 2008 on the tests of the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II) (OJ L 57, 1.3.2008, p. 14). (10)   OJ L 64, 7.3.2002, p. 20. (11)   OJ L 176, 10.7.1999, p. 36. (12)   Council Decision 1999/437/EC of 17 May 1999 on certain arrangements for the application of the Agreement concluded by the Council of the European Union and the Republic of Iceland and the Kingdom of Norway concerning the association of those two States with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis (OJ L 176, 10.7.1999, p.31). (13)   OJ L 53, 27.2.2008, p. 52. (14)   Council Decision 2008/149/JHA of 28 January 2008 on the conclusion on behalf of the European Union of the Agreement between the European Union, the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on the Swiss Confederation's association with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis (OJ L 53, 27.2.2008, p. 50) (15)   OJ L 160, 18.6.2011, p. 3. (16)   Council Decision 2011/349/EU of 7 March 2011 on the conclusion on behalf of the European Union of the Protocol between the European Union, the European Community, the Swiss Confederation and the Principality of Liechtenstein on the accession of the Principality of Liechtenstein to the Agreement between the European Union, the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on the Swiss Confederation’s association with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis, relating in particular to judicial cooperation in criminal matters and police cooperation (OJ L 160, 18.6.2011, p. 1). (17)   Commission Communication of 18 June 2014 on "Regulatory Fitness and Performance Programme (REFIT): State of play and Outlook" (COM(2014) 368 final, 18.6.2014.