Introductory text

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the 2005 Act of Accession, and in particular Article 4(2) thereof,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament^f1,

Whereas:

Article 4(2) of the 2005 Act of Accession provides that the provisions of the Schengen acquis, other than those mentioned in Annex II to that Act, shall apply in Bulgaria and Romania (hereinafter the ‘Member States concerned’) only pursuant to a Council Decision to that effect, after verification that the necessary conditions for the application of that acquis have been met.

A full questionnaire was forwarded to the Member States concerned, whose replies were recorded, and verification and evaluation visits were made to those Member States, in accordance with the applicable Schengen evaluation procedures as set out in the Decision of the Executive Committee setting up a Standing Committee on the evaluation and implementation of Schengen (SCH/Com-ex (98) 26 def.)^f2, in the area of Data Protection.

On 26 April 2010, the Council concluded that the conditions in this area had been fulfilled by the Member States concerned. It is therefore possible to set a date from which the Schengen acquis relating to the Schengen Information System (SIS) may apply in those Member States.

The entry into force of this Decision should allow for real SIS data to be transferred to the Member States concerned. The concrete use of this data should allow the Council, through the applicable Schengen evaluation procedures as set out in SCH/Com-ex (98) 26 def., to verify the correct application of the provisions of the Schengen acquis relating to the SIS in the Member States concerned. Once these evaluations have been carried out, the Council should decide on the lifting of checks at the internal borders with those Member States.

A separate Council Decision should be adopted setting a date for the lifting of checks at internal borders. Until the date set out in that Decision, certain restrictions on the use of the SIS should be imposed.

As regards Iceland and Norway, this Decision constitutes a development of the provisions of the Schengen acquis within the meaning of the Agreement concluded by the Council of the European Union and the Republic of Iceland and the Kingdom of Norway concerning the latters’ association with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis ^f3 which fall within the area referred to in Article 1, point G, of Council Decision 1999/437/EC^f4 on certain arrangements for the application of that Agreement.

As regards Switzerland, this Decision constitutes a development of the provisions of the Schengen acquis within the meaning of the Agreement between the European Union, the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on the Swiss Confederation’s association with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis ^f5, which fall within the area referred to in Article 1, point G of Council Decision 1999/437/EC of 17 May 1999, read in conjunction with Article 3 of Council Decision 2008/149/JHA^f6 and with Article 3 of Council Decision 2008/146/EC^f7,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: