For most citizens of the Schengen Area, the most noticeable impact of this agreement on their everyday life is quite
negligible. It is only when crossing internal country borders without the need for your identification paperwork
(visa, passport, etc.) to be checked that the benefits become noticeable. Schengen citizens may cross between Schengen
member states anywhere and at any time.
The purpose of the Schengen Agreement is to ensure that all obstacles to the communication infrastructure are
removed. As a result, you can pass across member state borders as easily as you pass between cities inside a country;
the only difference you may notice upon arrival in another country is special welcome boards or signs in a foreign
language.
What the Schengen Area does not eliminate are rules about traveling and identification requirements specific to a
country. For example, if you are driving a car you still need the correct license to do so. You cannot travel across
borders in areas that are private property, and you must still carry a valid ID or passport when you travel. The
distinction between the Schengen member states and travelling to non-Schengen countries is simply that there is no
need to go through a customs line / border check.
Although these measures prove extremely useful for travel and economic exchange, the removal of internal border
checks between Schengen member states also raised some concerns about internal security. To preemptively combat these
issues, the Schengen member states introduced compensatory legal measures in the
Schengen Acquis, and elaborated these measures in further recommendations concerning their
proper implementation in practice.
Combined, these measures form the Schengen standards, which are binding for all countries involved.
A high
standard for protection of the Schengen area is guaranteed by detailed regulations specifying the activities of
individual countries, including their mutual cooperation, particularly in the following areas:
- External Border Control
- Police and Judicial Cooperation
- Cross Country Surveillance and ‘Hot Pursuit’
- Visa and Consular Cooperation
- Personal Data Protection
- The Schengen Information System
Please see other subsections for more details about the Areas of Schengen Cooperation.
External Border Control
In order to allow for the free movement of persons and goods within the Schengen area, the Schengen Agreement also
details the
transfer of activities related to border control to the external borders of the Schengen states,
i.e. borders with countries not involved in the Schengen cooperation. Currently, the most important piece of
EU legislation regulating the cross-border movement of persons is the
Schengen Borders Code (SBC),
which began being enforced in October 2006.
The SBC takes into account the current needs of the Communities regarding external EU border control. It requires
that all persons crossing the borders be subject to a minimum check, in order to determine their identity based on
their travel documents. Non-Schengen citizens, when entering and leaving the territory of member states, are
additionally subjected to a thorough check.
The current procedures at external borders of the EU are based on international cooperation. The external border
control is a matter of interest not only for the relevant member state at the borders of which checks are conducted,
but also for all the member states which have abolished their internal border control.
The joint protection of the external borders should assist in combating illegal migration and human trafficking, and
prevent any and all threats to internal security, public policy, and international relations of Member States. Within
the framework of Schengen cooperation at the EU level, protection of the external borders of the EU member states is
of paramount importance for promoting the EU’s agenda on justice and home affairs.
The basic level on which the legal and executive regulations are prepared is EU Council working groups consisting of
national representatives of all EU/Schengen member states. These working groups meet on a regular basis, providing
technical support, and acting as an important agent in harmonizing the legislation of individual member states.
The fight against illegal migration and cross-border crime concentrates mainly on the actual territory of the Czech
Republic, where measures in the area of search, control, supervision and return of citizens have been intensified. A
part of the police officers formerly working at border crossing points are charged with other tasks aimed at
strengthening public order and security in the areas near the state borders. The police thus retain operations in the
border regions, carrying out activities aimed at maintaining the same level of national security and public order.
An important agency in the area of international cooperation for protecting the EU’s external borders is the European
Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the EU Member States (
Frontex). The main
tasks of Frontex includes coordination of operational cooperation among member states in the area of external border
control, assistance in the professional training of national border guards of the member states, compilation of risk
analyses, provision of help to member states under circumstances requiring higher technical and operational assistance
at the external borders, and the necessary support in organizing joint return operations.
For more information on rules governing movement of persons crossing the external border, please see the website
of the Ministry of the Interior.
Police and Judicial Cooperation
Although the entirety of the police and judicial cooperation measures were formally implemented on December 21, 2007,
these areas of cooperation had begun being established many years before that, to facilitate a smooth transition into
being a full member of the Schengen agreement.
Preventing organized crime, trafficking, and illegal migration are priority activities for border police. Due to the
lack of internal border checks and common external border, all the appropriate authorities of the Schengen member
states closely cooperate to control illegal activity.
Police cooperation in the Schengen framework involves five basic areas of activity,
including the exchange of liaison officers, exchange of information, harmonization of communication networks, as well
as cross-border surveillance and hot pursuit of persons. Under certain circumstances, the policy of ‘hot pursuit’
allows police authorities of one country to continue in their activities in the territory of the neighboring country.
This cooperation represents an unprecedented breakthrough to the key area of the execution of a state sovereign power.
Important legal instruments of cooperation in criminal matters include the European Arrest Warrant and the surrender
of persons serving sentences for criminal charges. Of course, due respect for human rights is always observed, and
dual punishment, for instance, is prohibited.
The cooperation between different member states authorities can take many forms. Oftentimes cooperation occurs on
specific operations, in particular on detecting and investigating criminal offences, as well as obtaining, storing,
processing and analyzing information, or e.g. common police training.
An important role in this regard is played by the European Police Office (
Europol), which ensures the exchange of information among member states and carries out analyses
related to the fight against international organized crime and terrorism. Judicial cooperation concerning criminal
matters includes –mainly– mutual assistance among the EU member states and the surrender of persons under the European
Arrest Warrant.
Intensive cooperation with the neighboring countries is in place. Bilateral agreements on police cooperation allow
the police and customs authorities to exchange information; police officers from both sides of the border carry out
joint patrols, participate in joint exercises and training courses, exchange security reports on the situation in the
border regions, etc.
Furthermore, joint centres facilitate mutual cooperation where officers of both contracting parties operate together.
The Czech Republic has had such centers with Germany, Austria, and Poland even prior to 2007. Other evidence of
well-functioning cooperation is the support in emergency and other special situations.
Cross-Country Surveillance and ‘Hot Pursuit’
The countries commit themselves to cooperating and helping each other in preventing and solving crime. This
cooperation, however, is limited to requests which are not in the exclusive competence of national judicial
authorities or which are not connected with the use of coercive measures by the requested party. Communication between
police authorities in these cases is direct. Furthermore, law enforcement officers carrying out cross-border
surveillance in the territory of another Schengen state must strictly observe stipulated restrictions.
Law enforcement officers of one Schengen member state surveilling a suspect for evidence of complicity in an
extraditable criminal offence may continue their surveillance in the sovereign territory of another Schengen state, if
that state has pre-authorized cross-border surveillance in response to a request for assistance. Under certain other
conditions, officers may continue in the surveillance of a person even if a prior authorization could not be requested
for urgent reasons. This exception, however, only applies to specifically listed crimes.
Law enforcement officers who pursue in their country a person caught in the act of committing or participating in one
of the serious listed crimes have the possibility, under certain stipulated conditions, to continue their pursuit of
such a person in the territory of another Schengen state. The pursuit must be justified by urgency reasons and no
possibility of prior notification of the relevant state; it must concern a person caught in the act or a fugitive and
the offence must be one of the criminal offences listed in Art. 41 par. 4 of the Schengen Implementing Convention.
For practical purposes, a methodological manual for cross-border cooperation has been published, which further
elaborates the practices and conditions of cross-border surveillance and hot pursuit policy. The same rules apply to
the pursuit of a person who has previously been apprehended/detained (e.g. an escaped prisoner).
In instances of both cross-border surveillance and hot pursuit, certain restrictions must be respected in the other
state’s territory (the officers must abide by the law of the state in the territory of which they are active). In
particular, they may use their service weapons only for necessary self-defense. Other restrictions concern the
possibility to apprehend or arrest the person concerned or entry onto private property.
In order to streamline police/customs cooperation and ensure the timely exchange of information, particularly in the
border areas, the contracting parties must establish efficient mutual contacts or cooperate through liaison officers
and other means.
The possibility of the mutual secondment of liaison officers plays a very important role; its purpose is to
strengthen and speed up cooperation, particularly through the exchange of information related to police collaboration
and legal assistance in criminal matters, or by helping authorities responsible for protecting the external borders.
Liaison officers are not authorized, however, to take police measures themselves. They are delegated on a bilateral
basis.
Judicial cooperation includes both practical collaboration of competent ministries, courts and other authorities
during criminal proceedings and the execution of decisions, as well as legislative activity. Legislation mainly
ensures extradition rights between member states, the compatibility of other legislation (particularly regarding
criminal procedure, coordination of regulations on the jurisdiction of judicial and other investigative, prosecuting,
and adjudicating bodies), and coordinate the substantive criminal law concerning organized crime, terrorism, and drug
trafficking.
Visa and Consular Cooperation
An instrument facilitating regulation of the influx of persons and eliminating the entry of undesirable persons
or persons posing a security risk is the EU common
visa policy.
This policy is enforced through the entirety of the EU, not solely in Schengen member states, and all Schengen member
states are compliant with the policy. The EU dictates visa requirements through two lists of countries; the „black
list“ contains countries with a visa requirement for the EU, and the „white list“ includes countries without this
requirement.
Schengen member states, in addition, have standardized the conditions of short-term stay in their
territories. Upon receiving a uniform Schengen visa, its holder may stay and freely move in the Schengen
territory for up to 3 months in any half-year from the date of first entry into the Schengen area. Since September 1,
2006, the Czech Republic has been issuing travel documents with biometric features.
Issuing long-stay permits or conditions for the acquisition of citizenship have not been standardized, and are
instead regulated at the national level of each country. A valid residence permit or national long-stay visa issued by
any Schengen state, however, authorizes its holder to move in the entire Schengen territory for up to 3 months during
any six-month (half-year) period.
On April 5, 2010, new regulations established a
Community Code on Visas (known as the
Visa Code). This
code further specifies the rules for common visa policy and consular practice in the Schengen member states. The Czech
Republic is also compliant with the Visa Information System, which acts as a European-wide consult on the issuance of
visas, to prevent individuals who have been identified as undesirable and/or a security risk from obtaining a visa
from another Schengen country.
At the same time, the Schengen
visa fee has been standardized (€60) for all applicants from third
countries except nationals of the Russian Federation, the Ukraine, Albania, Moldova, Montenegro, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Serbia and Macedonia. The fee for issuing a Schengen visa for nationals of these countries is €35.
Additionally, certain categories of applicants (e.g. students, researchers, or children under 6 years) are issued a
visa free of charge.
For more information on visa policy and residence permits, please see the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
the Czech Republic website.
Personal Data Protection
The processing of personal data, i.e. data that refer to particular natural persons, is an integral part of the
Schengen cooperation, as sharing certain information (e.g. on persons refused entry in the territory of Schengen
countries or stolen vehicles) is necessary for effective ensuring of security in the Schengen area. Due to this
cooperation, a large amount of sensitive and/or personal information is transferred among individual member states,
and the misuse or loss of which may lead to a significant infringement of personal rights of the individual concerned.
Therefore, strict rules regulate the collecting, storing, transmitting or other processing of personal data in
connection with Schengen cooperation (both at the international level, rules contained in particular in the Schengen
Implementing Convention, and in national legislation of Schengen member states), and independent supervisory bodies
are responsible for monitoring their observation.
The Personal Data Protection Act primarily governs the rules regarding the protection of personal data in the Czech
Republic, but certain issues related to data processing within areas of Schengen cooperation are regulated by other
legislation.
The Office for Personal Data Protection is an
independent supervisory authority of the Czech Republic. This
office is authorized to check the processing of personal data, including data collected for purposes relating to the
Czech Republic’s Schengen membership, and which guarantees that the rights of data subjects are observed. This
Office also cooperates on matters related to data protection and the Schengen Information System (SIS) with other
member states.
Any person (irrespective of his or her nationality) has the right to ask the Office for Personal Data Protection to
check the processing of his/her personal data entered in the Schengen Information System (SIS). The concrete procedure
to be carried out by the Office with respect to the exercise of this right is stipulated in the Czech legislation.
Since the Czech Republic connected to the SIS, the Office for Personal Data Protection has been authorized to
examine, upon a request of a data subject (i.e. a person to whom the data relate), if his or her data in the SIS have
been processed lawfully, and to notify the requesting person of the results of its enquiry. The Personal Data
Protection Act and the Code of Administrative Procedure govern the handling of such requests.
For more information on personal data protection, and/or its relation to the SIS, see the website of the
Office for Personal Data Protection.
The Schengen Information System (SIS)
The Schengen Information System (SIS) is a joint database used mainly for searching for persons
(wanted, missing, undesirable) and objects (cars, registration plates, travel and personal documents, registration
documents for cars, bank notes, weapons, etc.) of interest in the Schengen area.
All Schengen member states
enter data into the SIS directly from their national databases. The SIS is a prerequisite for the abolition of
checks at the internal borders. The Czech Republic formally entered the SIS system on September 1, 2007. Since that
time, Czech police and judicial authorities have had access, and contributed to, the entirety of the SIS.
All law enforcement officers have a level of access to the system analogous to their level of access to their
national databases. The SIS responds to the queries in the inquirer’s native language. In this way, it is ensured that
searching data from other member states has the same application as a national search. The maximum time between the
launch of a search in one country and the moment the alert is accessible to all Schengen countries through the SIS is
120 seconds. Thus, the system contributes significantly to the effectiveness and efficiency of international search,
compensating for the abolition of internal border checks.
In the Schengen area, the following types of searches are conducted through the SIS. Individual search types are laid
down in the relevant articles of the Schengen Implementing Convention as follows:
- Art. 95 – search for persons for the purposes of surrender/extradition
- Art. 96 – refusal of entry to a foreign national from a third country
- Art. 97 – missing persons, persons who need to be placed under police protection
- Art. 98 – search for the place of residence for judicial purposes – witnesses, summoned persons, persons who are
to be served with a criminal judgment
- Art. 99 – discreet surveillance or specific check of a person or vehicle
- Art. 100 – search for stolen, lost, misappropriated or invalidated objects or objects needed as evidence in
criminal proceedings – motor vehicles, weapons, completed documents, blank documents, and registered bank notes.
Since September 1, 2007, checking the SIS alerts forms a standard part of a thorough external border check
(at Czech borders) of those third-country nationals who do not enjoy the Community right of free movement.
Checking the SIS is possible, under certain conditions, also with respect to
persons enjoying the Community
right of free movement (nationals of the EU/Schengen countries, Liechtenstein and Switzerland and their
family members).
As a part of a minimum check, it is possible to search in relevant databases (including the SIS) for the purposes of
checking whether the submitted travel document is not a stolen, misappropriated, lost or invalid travel document.
On an irregular basis, i.e. not systematically, it is possible to check persons enjoying the
Community right of free movement. This is allowed when the circumstance is
to ensure that their presence in
the Czech territory (and the Schengen territory)
does not present a real, current and sufficiently
serious threat to internal security, public policy in the Czech Republic, a threat to public health, and/or
international relations.
As opposed to other third-country nationals, checking citizens of Schengen member states in the SIS is not done
systematically; i.e. it does not concern every person crossing the external Schengen border. In contrast to
third-country nationals not enjoying the Community right of free movement, an alert in the SIS or another database
does not constitute in itself a reason for refusing entry. Entry may be refused only for reasons of public policy or
security, i.e. if their personal behavior poses a real, current and sufficiently serious threat to some of the
fundamental interests of the society.
Checking the SIS is possible also for the purposes of standard police checks inside the territory of the
country.
Since September 1, 2007, any person is entitled to
request information on the processing of their personal
data in the SIS and has the possibility to exercise his/her right of access to the data in the SIS. S/he
can address their request directly to the personal data administrator (
the Czech Police), and if
their request is not satisfied, to the supervisory authority ascertaining the compliance with the Schengen provisions
on personal data protection – in the Czech Republic it is the
Office for Personal Data Protection.
Autor: Euroskop