44 Amendments of Nicolaus FEST related to 2020/0278(COD)
Amendment 159 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 2
Recital 2
(2) The rules governing border control of persons crossing the external borders of the Member States of the Union are laid down in Regulation (EU) 2016/399 of the European Parliament and of the Council (Schengen Borders Code)21 as adopted under Article 77(2)(b) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). To further develop the Union’s policy with a view to carrying out checks on persons and efficiently monitoring the crossing of external borders referred to in the first paragraph of Article 77 TFEU, additional measures should address situations where third-country nationals manage to avoid, whether purposely or not, border checks at the external borders, or where third-country nationals are disembarked following search and rescue operations as well as where third-country nationals request international protection at a border crossing point without fulfilling entry conditions. The present regulation complements and specifies Regulation (EU) 2016/399 with regard to those three sets of situations. _________________ 21 Regulation (EU) 2016/399 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March on a Union Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders (Schengen Borders Code), OJ L 77, 23.3.2016, p.1.
Amendment 164 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 3
Recital 3
(3) It is essential to ensure that in those three sets of situations, the third country nationals are screened, in order to facilitate a proper identification and to allow for them being referred efficientlyefficiently and promptly refer them to the relevant procedures which, depending on the circumstances, can be procedures for international protection or procedures respecting Directive 2008/115/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (the “Return Directive”)22 . The screening should seamlessly complement the checks carried out at the external border or compensate for the fact that those checks have been circumvented by the third country nationals when crossing the external border. _________________ 22 Directive 2008/115/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 on common standards and procedures in Member States for returning illegally staying third-country nationals, OJ L 348, 24.12.2008, p. 98.
Amendment 170 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 4
Recital 4
(4) Border control is in the interest not only of the Member States at whose external borders it is carried out but of all Member States which have abolished internal border control. Border control should help toprimarily combat illegal migration and trafficking of human beings and to prevent any threat to the Member States’ internal security, public policy, public health and international relations. As such, measures taken at the external borders are important elements of a comprehensive approach to migration, allowing to address the challenge of mixed flows of migrants and persons seeking international protectionensuring safety of the Member States.
Amendment 176 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5
Recital 5
(5) In accordance with Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2016/399, border control consists of border checks carried out at the border crossing points and border surveillance, which is carried out between the border crossing points, in order to prevent third-country nationals from illegally circumventing border checks. In accordance with Article 13 of Regulation (EU) 2016/399 a person who has crossed a border in an unauthorised manner and who has no right to stay on the territory of the Member State concerned shall be apprehended and made subject to procedures respecting Directive 2008/115/EC. In accordance with Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 2016/399, border control should be carried out without prejudice to the rights of refugees and persons requesting international protection, in particular as regards non- refoulement.
Amendment 184 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 6
Recital 6
(6) Border guards are often confronted with third-country nationals who are requesting international protection without travel documents or any other documents supporting their claims, both following apprehension during border surveillance and during checks at the border crossing points. Moreover, at some border sections the border guards are confronted with large numbers of arrivals at the same time. In such circumstances, it is particularly difficult to ensure that all relevant databases are consulted and to immediately determine the appropriate asylum or return procedure.
Amendment 191 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 7
Recital 7
(7) In order to ensure a swift and efficient handling of third-country nationals who try to avoid border checks or who request international protection at a border crossing point without fulfilling the entry conditions or who are disembarked following a search and rescue operation, it is necessary to provide a stronger framework for cooperation between the different national authorities responsible for border control, the protection of public health, the examination of the need for international protection and the application of return procedures.
Amendment 194 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 8
Recital 8
(8) In particular, the sScreening should help to ensure that the third-country nationals concerned are referred to the appropriate procedures at the earliest stage possible and that the procedures are continued without interruption and delay. At the same timeIn particular, the screening should help to counter the practice whereby some applicants for international protection abscond after having been authorised to enter the territory of a Member State based on their request for international protection, in order to pursue such requests in another Member State or not at all.
Amendment 198 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 9
Recital 9
(9) With regard to those persons who apply for international protection, the screening shouldmay be followed by an examination of the need for international protection. It shouldmay allow to collect and share with the authorities competent for that examination any information that is relevant for the latter to identify the appropriate procedure for the examination of the application, thusif that would allow for speeding up that examination. The screening should also ensure that persons with special needs are identified at an early stage, so that any special reception and procedural needs are fully taken into account in the determination of and the pursuit of the applicable procedure.
Amendment 202 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 10
Recital 10
(10) The obligations stemming from this Regulation should be without prejudice to the provisions concerning responsibility for examining an application for international protection regulated in Regulation (EU) No XX/XXX [Asylum and Migration Management Regulation] if it is not hampering the security of the external borders.
Amendment 204 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 11
Recital 11
(11) This Regulation should apply to third-country nationals and stateless persons who are apprehended in connection with the unauthorised or illegal crossings of the external border of a Member State by land, sea or air, except third country nationals for whom the Member State is not required to take the biometric data pursuant to Article 14(1) and (3) of the Eurodac Regulation for reasons other than their age, as well as to persons who have been disembarked following search and rescue operations, regardless of whether they apply or not for international protection. This Regulation should also apply to those who seek international protection at the border crossing points or in transit zones without fulfilling the entry conditions
Amendment 211 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12
Recital 12
(12) The screening should always be conducted at or in proximity to the external border, before the persons concerned are authorised to enter the territory. The Member States should apply measures pursuant to national law to prevent the persons concerned from entering the territory during the screening. In individual cases, wWhere required, this may include detention, subject to the national law regulating that matter.
Amendment 221 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 13
Recital 13
(13) Wherever it becomes clear beyond any doubt during the screening that a third- country national subject to it fulfils the conditions of Article 6 of Regulation (EU) 2016/399, the screening should end and the third-country national concerned should be authorised to enter the territory, without prejudice to the application of penalties as referred to in Article 5(3) of that regulation.
Amendment 233 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 17
Recital 17
Amendment 240 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 18
Recital 18
(18) In accordance with Article 12 of Regulation (EU) 2016/399, the fulfilment of entry conditions and the authorisation of entry are expressed in an entry stamp in a travel document. The absence of such entry stamp or the absence of a travel document mayshould therefore be considered as an indication that the holder does not fulfil the entry conditions. With the start of the operation of the Entry/Exit System leading to substitution of the stamps with an entry in the electronic system, that presumption will become even more reliable. Member States should therefore apply the screening to third-country nationals who are already within the territory and who are unable to prove that they fulfilled the conditions of entry into the territory of the Member States. The screening of such third-country nationals is clearly necessary in order to compensate for the fact that they presumably managed to evade entry checks upon arrival in the Schengen area and therefore could have not been either refused entry or referred to the appropriate procedure following screening. Applying the screening could also help in ascertaining, through the consultation of the databases referred to in this Regulation, that the persons concerned do not pose a threat to internal security. By the end of the screening within the territory, the third- country nationals concerned should be subject to a return procedure or, where they apply for international protection, to the appropriate asylum procedure. Submitting the same third-country national to repeated screenings should be avoided to the utmost extent possible.
Amendment 246 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 19
Recital 19
(19) The screening should be completed as soon as possible, and should not exceed 5 days where it is conducted at the external border and 3 days where it is conducted within the territory of a Member State. Any extension of the 5 days’ time limit should be reserved forIn exceptional situations at, the external borders, where the capacities of the Member State to handle screenings are exceeded for reasons beyond its control such as crisis situations referred to in Article 1 of Regulation XXX/XXX [crisis proposal]limit can be extended if it is necessary for the proper conducting of the screening procedure.
Amendment 251 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 20
Recital 20
(20) The Member States should determine appropriate locations for the screening at or in close proximity to the external border taking into account geography and existing infrastructures, ensuring that apprehended third-country nationals as well as those who present themselves at a border crossing point can be swiftly submitted to the screening. In any case, the persons under the screening procedure shall not be deemed to be on the territory of a Member State. The tasks related to the screening may be carried out in hotspot areas as referred to in point (23) of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1896 of the European Parliament and of the Council23 . _________________ 23 Regulation (EU) 2019/1896 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 November 2019 on the European Border and Coast Guard, OJ L 295, 14.11.2019, p. 1.
Amendment 255 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 21
Recital 21
(21) In order to achieve the objectives of the screening, close cooperation should be ensured between the competent national authorities referred to in Article 16 of Regulation 2016/399, those referred to in Article 5 of the [Asylum Procedures Regulation] as well as those responsible for carrying out return procedures respecting Directive 2008/115. Child protection authorities shouldmay also be closely involved in the screening wherever necessary to ensure that the best interests of the child are duly taken into account throughout the screening. Member States should be allowed to avail themselves of the support of the relevant agencies, in particular the European Border and Coast Guard Agency and the [European Union Agency for Asylum], within the limits of their mandates. Member States should involve the national Rapporteurs for Anti- trafficking wherever the screening reveals facts relevant for trafficking in line with Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council24 . _________________ 24 Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2011 on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims, OJ L 101, 15.4.2011, p. 1.
Amendment 257 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 22
Recital 22
Amendment 264 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 23
Recital 23
Amendment 277 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 24
Recital 24
(24) By the end of the screening, the authorities responsible for the screening should fill in a de-briefing form. The form should be transmitted to the authorities examining applications for international protection or to the authorities competent for return – depending on whom the individual is referred to. In the former case, the authorities responsible for the screening should also indicate any elements which may seem to be relevant for determining whether the competent authorities should submit the application of the third-country national concerned to an accelerated examination procedure or to the border procedure.
Amendment 287 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 26
Recital 26
(26) A preliminary health examination should be carried out on all persons submitted to the screening at the external borders with a view to identifying persons in need of immediate care or requiring other measures to be taken, for instance isolation on public health grounds. The specific needs of minors and vulnerable persons should be taken into account. If it is clear from the circumstances that such examination is not needed, in particular because the overall condition of the person appears to be very good, the examination should not take place and the person concerned should be informed of that fact. The preliminary health examination should be carried out by the health authorities of the Member State concerned. With regard to third-country nationals apprehended within the territory, the preliminary medical examination should be carried out where it is deemed necessary at first sightThe preliminary health examination should be carried out by the health authorities of the Member State concerned.
Amendment 294 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 27
Recital 27
Amendment 302 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 28
Recital 28
(28) Since third-country nationals subject to the screening may not carry or disclose the necessary identity and travel documents required for the legal crossing of the external border, an identification procedure should be provided for as part of the screening.
Amendment 305 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 29
Recital 29
(29) The Common Identity Repository (“CIR”) was established by Regulation (EU) 2019/817 of the European Parliament and of the Council (Interoperability Regulation)25 to facilitate and assist in the correct identification of persons registered in the Entry/Exit System (“EES”), the Visa Information System (“VIS”), the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (“ETIAS”), Eurodac and in the European Criminal Records Information System for third country nationals (“ECRIS-TCN”), including of unknown persons who are unable to identify themselves. For that purpose, the CIR contains only the identity, travel document and biometric data recorded in EES, VIS, ETIAS, Eurodac and ECRIS-TCN, logically separated. Only the personal data strictly necessary to perform an accurate identity check is stored in the CIR. The personal data recorded in the CIR is kept for noas longer than strictly as it is necessary for the purposes of the underlying systems and should automatically be deleted where the data are deleted from the underlying systems. Consultation of the CIR enables a reliable and exhaustive identification of persons, by making it possible to consult all identity data present in the EES, VIS, ETIAS, Eurodac and ECRIS-TCN in one go, in a fast and reliable manner, while ensuring a maximum protection of the data and avoiding unnecessary processing or duplication of data. _________________ 25 Regulation (EU) 2019/817 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2019 on establishing a framework for interoperability between EU information systems in the field of borders and visa and amending Regulations (EC) No 767/2008, (EU) 2016/399, (EU) 2017/2226, (EU) 2018/1240, (EU) 2018/1726 and (EU) 2018/1861 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Decisions 2004/512/EC and 2008/633/JHA, OJ L 135, 22.5.2019, p. 27.
Amendment 313 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 32
Recital 32
(32) Given that many persons submitted to the screening may not carry or disclose any travel documents, the authorities conducting the screening should have access to any other relevant documents held by the persons concerned in cases where the biometric data of such persons are not usable or yield no result in the CIR. The authorities should also be allowed to use data from those documents, other than biometric data, to carry out checks against the relevant databases.
Amendment 315 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 33
Recital 33
(33) The identification of persons during border checks at the border crossing point and any consultation of the databases in the context of border surveillance or police checks in the external border area by the authorities who referred the person concerned to the screening should be considered as part of the screening and should not be repeated, unless there are special circumstances justifying such repetition.
Amendment 324 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 35
Recital 35
(35) The screening should alsoprimarily assess whether the entry of the third- country nationals into the Union could pose a threat to internal security or to public policy.
Amendment 336 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 41
Recital 41
(41) Where justified for the purpose of the security check, the screening could also include verification of objects in the possession of third-country nationals, in accordance with national law. Any measures applied in this context should be proportionate and should respect the human dignity of the persons subject to the screening. The authorities involved should ensure that the fundamental rights of the individuals concerned are respected, including the right to protection of personal data and freedom of expression.
Amendment 359 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1
Article 1 – paragraph 1
This Regulation establishes the screening at the external borders of the Member States of all third-country nationals who have crossed the external border illegally in an unauthorised manner, of those who have applied for international protection during border checks without fulfilling entry conditions, as well as those disembarked after a search and rescue operation, before they are referred to the appropriate procedure.
Amendment 371 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 3
Article 1 – paragraph 3
The object of the screening shall be the identification of all third-country nationals subject to it and the verification against relevant databases that the persons subject to it do not pose a threat to internal security. The screening shall also entailinclude health checks, to identify persons posing a threat to public health, and where appropriate, to identify persons vulnerable and in the need of health care as well the ones posing a threat to public health. Those checks shall contribute to referring such persons to the appropriate procedure.
Amendment 428 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1
Article 4 – paragraph 1
1. During the screening, the persons referred to in Article 3, paragraphs 1 and 2 shall notin no circumstances be authorised to enter the territory of a Member State.
Amendment 450 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1
Article 6 – paragraph 1
1. In the cases referred to in Article 3, the screening shall be conducted at locations situated at or in proximity to the external borders. However, in any case the persons under the screening procedure shall not be deemed to be on the territory of a Member State.
Amendment 463 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 3 – introductory part
Article 6 – paragraph 3 – introductory part
3. In the cases referred to in Article 3, the screening shall be carried out without delay and shall in any case be completed within 5 days from the apprehension in the external border area, the disembarkation in the territory of the Member State concerned or the presentation at the border crossing point. In exceptional circumstancesituations, wthere a disproportionate number of third-country nationals needs to be subject to the screening at the same time, making it impossible in practice to conclude the screening within that time- limit, the period of 5 days may be extended by a maximum of an additional 5 days limit can be extended, if it is necessary for the proper conducting of the screening procedure.
Amendment 471 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 4
Article 6 – paragraph 4
4. Member States shallmay notify the Commission without delay about the exceptional circumstances referred to in paragraph 3. They shall also inform the Commission as soon as the reasons for extending the screening period have ceased to exist.
Amendment 476 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 5
Article 6 – paragraph 5
5. The screening referred to in Article 5 shall be carried out without delay and in any case shall be completed within 3 days from apprehension. This limit can be extended, if the screening procedure requires it.
Amendment 505 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7
Article 7
Amendment 608 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 2 – point a
Article 8 – paragraph 2 – point a
(a) the applicable rules on the conditions of entry for third-country nationals in accordance with Regulation (No) 2016/399 [Schengen Border Code], as well as on other conditions of entry, stay and residence of the Member State concerned, to the extent this information has not been given already;
Amendment 611 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 2 – point e
Article 8 – paragraph 2 – point e
Amendment 614 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 3
Article 8 – paragraph 3
3. The information provided during the screening shall be given in a language which the third-country national understands or is reasonably supposed to understand. The information shall be given in writing and, in exceptional circumstances, where necessary, orally using interpretation services. It shall be provided in an appropriate manner taking into account the age and the gender of the person.
Amendment 627 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 4
Article 8 – paragraph 4
4. Member States may authorise relevant and competent national, international and non-governmental organisations and bodies to provide third country nationals with information under this article during the screening according to the provisions established by national law.
Amendment 634 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 1
Article 9 – paragraph 1
1. Third-country nationals submitted to the screening referred to in Article 3 shall be always subject to a preliminary medical examination with a view to identifying any needs for immediate care or isolation on public health grounds, unless, based on the circumstances concerning the general state of the individual third-country nationals concerned and the grounds for directing them to the screening, the relevant competent authorities are satisfied that no preliminary medical screening is necessary. In that case, they shall inform those persons accordingly.
Amendment 638 #
2. Where relevant, it shall be checked whether persons referred to in paragraph 1 are in a vulnerable situation, victims of torture or have special reception or procedural needs within the meaning of Article 20 of the [recast] Reception Conditions Directive.
Amendment 644 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 3
Article 9 – paragraph 3
3. Where there are indications of vulnerabilities or special reception or procedural needs, the third-country national concerned shallmay receive timely and adequate support in view of their physical and mental health. In the case of minors, support shall be given by personnel trained and qualified to deal with minors, and in cooperation with child protection authorities.
Amendment 664 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 1 – point c
Article 10 – paragraph 1 – point c
(c) biometric data, including DNA testing for age;