Effort to resolve frontiers row begins anew

Date: 04/01/1996

By Rory Watson

FRESH attempts are under way to end the long-running deadlock over a unified system of controls for all non-EU citizens entering the Union.

Proper rules for policing the 15 member states' external frontiers with the outside world are considered essential if the Union is to achieve its aim of abolishing all remaining internal border controls without giving a boost to illegal activities and crime.

But progress is being held up by the failure of EU governments to agree on the terms of a proposed external borders convention after years of continuous wrangling.

Now the European Commission is embarking on 1996 determined to find a way out of the long-running dispute.

Home and Justice Commissioner Anita Gradin confessed before Christmas that the present state of play of negotiations on an external borders convention did “not give much room for optimism”.

Gradin said that, in the Commission's view, the current situation was “unacceptable”, adding: “I am therefore looking into possible ways of breaking the deadlock.”

EU officials are now studying ideas, including the possibility of seeking agreement separately on non-contentious issues, in a bid to build up momentum for the convention.

These are expected to be discussed for the first time by justice and home affairs ministers when they meet informally on 26 and 27 January.

Plans for an external borders convention have been on the table for years. They are blocked on several grounds, but the biggest obstacle remains the centuries-old dispute between Spain and the UK over the status of Gibraltar.

Gradin confirmed last month that she had personally tried to broker a deal in meetings in Madrid and London during 1995, but without success.

Unless the convention is approved, the Union will remain as far away as ever from its target of making the free movement of people within its borders a reality.

“The public in our countries have been waiting for years for this promise to come true. In order to succeed in making it a reality, we must reach agreement on rules for guarding our external borders,” explains Gradin.

The delay in approving the convention effectively sabotages the Commission's attempts to win government approval for draft legislation guaranteeing the abolition of passport checks at the EU's internal borders.

The stalled convention has other repercussions. Until it is approved, the common list of some 120 countries whose nationals need visas for short-term stays in the Union cannot be put into operation.

The proposed convention would ensure that EU states recognised short-term visas issued by other Union members, allow countries to retain control over the admission of third-country nationals for longer than three months and lay down common procedures for the removal of illegal immigrants and overstayers.

The range of difficulties still needing to be ironed out was graphically illustrated at last month's European Council in Madrid.

A brief paragraph on the draft convention in a report detailing the Union's justice and home affairs activities informed EU leaders that the following issues were unresolved: definition of frontiers, registration of third-country nationals, procedures for adopting implementing measures, territorial application and the role of the European Court of Justice.

The most politically-charged issue is the status of Gibraltar.

The UK insists Gibraltar should be covered by the convention, while Spain opposes the idea.

“Gibraltar is in the Union. If the convention applies to Gibraltar in the normal way, then the external frontier of the member states of the Union is Gibraltar for people coming from Africa, for instance. People given visas to enter Gibraltar would then have the right of travel to Spain,” insisted one senior UK official.

Spain, which is committed to regaining sovereignty of the British colony, disputes this. Madrid has also expressed fears concerning the ability of Gibraltar to police its own frontiers adequately, although the UK has recently offered its own police and customs help to tackle drugs smuggling and money laundering.

In a move with underlying political implications, Madrid has indicated it would like some involvement in helping the Rock to patrol its borders.

“This is an important divergence of view and there is not a lot of room for manoeuvre,” admits one EU official.