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Since the mid-80s, EUrope has
tightened its border regime. In 1990 the Schengen Convention was adopted to set
common standards for the immigration policies of member states. All EU
countries except the UK and Ireland signed. Since then, asylum seekers from
outside the EU can only ask for asylum in the first EU country they set foot
in.
This prevents immigrants from choosing their place of residence freely,
for example according to languages they might speak or to seek reunion with
friends or family. For entry in the UK and Ireland, the same regulations are
fixed in the Dublin Convention.
The Schengen Information System (SIS) is a
central piece of the European border regime. Developed to centralise and
harmonise control of migrants and refugees, SIS is now also being used to stop
" violent troublemakers" from travelling at certain periods. All 13 states of
Schengenland participate.
UK and Ireland are participating in the SIS on
law and order aspects. An official report notes that while the UK "does not
take part in the Schengen visa issuing arrangements, we do play a full and
active role in EU action to combat illegal immigration and the prevention of
crime".
The SIS database is comprised on records put in by each of its EU
member states. State agencies have access via tens of thousands of terminals
all over Europe.
This allows them to determine whether a person is wanted
for deportation or arrest, or suspected to be a danger to national
security/public order. The central unit of Europe's biggest law enforcement
database is located in the basement of a fence- and CCTV protected building in
Strasbourg. At the end of 2001, it contained 10 541 271 records, including
between 1.3 and 6 million names. German-owned Siemens Nixdorf provided the
mainframe for the SIS and French state-owned group Bull developped software
interfaces.
French-owned group Sema was enlisted to project-manage. Due to
technical difficulties and diversity of national law enforcement systems, SIS
went live only in 1995, five years after the first deadline. It crashed
immediately and was off line for six hours.
SIS II is now being planned -
proposals include a "restricted access terrorist database", additional
"identification material" such as photographs, fingerprints and possibly DNA
profiles, covert markers (eg. "suspected drug dealer") and biometric records
for facial/iris recognition. Data held in SIS II is to be made available to
Europol and Eurojust, public prosecutors and magistrates.
The number of
entries will grow enourmously, since in the wake of 11 September records on
protestors, terrorist "suspects", refugees and possibly all resident third
country nationals are to be added. More info: www.statewatch.org |
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