EC Convention on external borders
01 September 1991
The twelve EC states reached agreement in July on a Convention on external borders, harmonising visa controls throughout the EC. Although the Convention has not been signed yet owing to an unresolved dispute between Britain and Spain over Gibraltar, European states are expected to adopt its measures informally in practice pending signature, probably in the autumn. Although it has not been published, reports indicate that it follows the Schengen Convention (of which France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Italy, Portugal and Spain are signatories) in mutual recognition of visas issued by any EC country, a common list of countries whose nationals will require visas, and exchange of information and centralised lists of undesirables to whom entry should be refused. As expected, the Convention limits the freedom of movement of non-EC nationals living in Europe to holidays in other EC countries without a visa; they will not be able to work in any country other than that in which they are settled.
Home Office ministers see the Convention as a victory for the British view that internal borders should not be discussed. Britain refuses to sign the Schengen agreement since this abolishes internal frontiers between signatory states, which Britain argues would be a breach of its sovereign right to control its own borders.
The justification for the treatment of policing and immigration issues on an intergovernmental level, rather than through EC legislation, has been that this preserves the sovereignty of each state, and that national parliaments will be able to scrutinise any agreements reached. But the Home Secretary and his Immigration Minister refused to publish minutes of the meetings making these decisions. On 3 June 1991, in response to parliamentary questions, Peter Lloyd Home Office Minister of State, refused to put in the House of Commons Library minutes of the Ad Hoc Group on Immigration and immediately afterwards Kenneth Baker gave the same response in relation to minutes of the Trevi group of ministers. Ministers would continue the practice of answering a planned written question setting out the main conclusions of the meetings.
(Hansard 3.6.91 col. 77.)