The European Parliament,

- having regard to Articles 3, 5, 7, 8a, 100 and 235 of the EEC Treaty,

- having regard to the Preamble to the Single European Act, in which the Member States expressed their determination 'to improve the economic and social situation by extending common policies and pursuing new objectives, and to ensure a smoother functioning of the Communities by enabling the institutions to exercise their powers under conditions most in keeping with Community interests',

- having regard to its resolution of 11 November 1977 on the granting of special rights of citizens of the European Community in implementation of the decision of the Paris Summit of December 1974OJ No. C 299, 12.12.1977, p. 26,

- having regard to its resolution of 12 March 1987 on the right of asylumOJ No. C 99, 13.4.1987, p. 167,

- having regard to its resolution of 15 March 1989 on the Commission's work programme for 1989OJ No. C 96, 17.4.1989, p. 57,

- having regard to its resolution of 23 November 1989 on the signing of the Supplementary Schengen AgreementOJ No. C 323, 27.12.1989, p. 98,

- having regard to its resolution of 15 March 1990 on the free movement of persons in the internal marketOJ No. C 96, 17.4.1990, p. 274,

- having regard to its resolution of 14 June 1990 on the Schengen Agreement, the Convention on the right of asylum and the status of refugees as defined by the ad hoc Group on ImmigrationOJ No. C 175, 16.7.1990, p. 170,

- having regard to its plenary debates of 20 and 21 February 1990See verbatim report of proceedings of 20.2.1991, p. 184, and 21.2.1991, p. 304,

- having regard to its resolution of 22 February 1991 on the harmonization of policies on entry to the territories of the EC Member States with a view to the free movement of persons (Article 8a of the EEC Treaty) and the drawing up of an intergovernmental Convention among the twelve Member States of the ECOJ No. C 72, 18.3.1991, p. 213,

- having regard to its resolution of 14 June 1991 on Union citizenshipPart II, Item 18 of Minutes of that date,

- having regard to the decision of the Paris Conference of Heads of State or Government of December 1974 regarding the special rights to be granted to citizens of the European Community,

- having regard to the report of the ad hoc Committee on a People's Europe (the Adonnino report),

- having regard to the White Paper on the completion of the internal marketCOM(85) 0310, which made provision for a series of proposals for directives on freedom of movement,

- having regard to the Commission report on the abolition of controls of persons at intra- Community bordersCOM(88) 0640,

- having regard to the declaration of the Ministers for immigration, issued at their meeting in Paris of 15 December 1989, on measures to combat illegal immigration and the need for appropriate immigration policies,

- having regard to the agreement signed on 15 June 1990 determining which state is responsible for dealing with a request for asylum lodged in one of the Community Member States (hereinafter referred to as the 'Convention on asylum') and the agreement signed on 19 June 1990 on the implementation of the Schengen Agreement (hereinafter referred to as the 'Schengen Implementing Agreement'),

- having regard to the motion for a resolution by Mr Habsburg and others on ensuring freedom of movement for EC citizens at the internal frontiers of the Community (B3- 0055/90),

- having regard to Rule 121 of its Rules of Procedure,

- having regard to the report by the Committee on Legal Affairs and Citizens' Rights and the opinion of the Political Affairs Committee (A3- 0199/91),

A. whereas Article 3(c) of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community speaks of 'the abolition, as between Member States, of obstacles to freedom of movement for persons, services and capital',

B. whereas, pursuant to Article 7 of the EEC Treaty, without prejudice to any special provisions contained therein, any discrimination on grounds of nationality shall be prohibited,

C.having regard to both the importance for all Community nationals of the opening-up of intra-Community borders on 1 January 1993 and the fact that no dispute regarding competence could justify any delay in the opening-up of those frontiers on the scheduled date,

D. whereas, as regards freedom of movement, the Commission White Paper gave notice of proposals concerning drugs (due 1987), the abolition of controls at internal frontiers, the coordination of rules governing residence, entry and access to employment for non-EEC citizens (1988), the right of asylum (1988), the status of refugees (1988), visa policy (1988) and extradition policy (1988),

E. noting that no Community action has been taken or proposed in any of these areas,

F. whereas Mr Bangemann, Vice-President of the Commission, stated in a communication to his colleagues of 21 March 1990, 'with less than three years remaining before the end of 1992 deadline, the Commission's general approach is pragmatic rather than doctrinaire, particularly where questions of competence are concerned. Thus, where the best prospects for progress lie in going down the road of intergovernmental conventions rather than Community legal instruments, the Commission has opted for making progress rather than fighting time-consuming battles for competence. This pragmatic policy has led to the modification of the approach originally set out in the 1985 White Paper' SEC(90) 437/3,

G. whereas, on 21 February 1991, Mr Bangemann said that, in spite of all the difficulties, he would attempt to elevate the Schengen rules to Community level, should a number of countries not subscribe to them, and that the Commission would submit a proposal of its own on the rules governing immigration and the granting of the right of asylum See verbatim report of proceedings of 21.2.1991, p. 312,

H. whereas the powers of the Community are not being fully utilized if the action signalled in the White Paper has not been proposed or adopted, and whereas the Commission has therefore failed in its duty to protect the interests of the Community,

I. whereas the signing of the Schengen Agreement, of the relevant implementing agreement and of the agreement on determining the country responsible for processing requests for asylum submitted to a Member State of the European Community took place outside the democratic control of the European Parliament,

J. whereas some parts of these agreements are already being implemented without being approved or ratified by the national parliaments, a fact which shows a further lack of democracy,

K .whereas there are numerous working parties dealing with the issues of the free movement of persons and security as part of intergovernmental cooperation, such as the Schengen Group, Trevi I, Trevi II, Trevi III, Trevi 92, ad hoc Group on Immigration, the coordinators group, SIS, CELAD, GAFI and so on; whereas, furthermore, all these activities are thus taking place outside the European institutions; whereas, moreover, the European Parliament receives only inadequate and spasmodic information on this subject and has no chance to make a serious evaluation;

L. having regard to the feeling among the nationally appointed members of these groups that the number and powers of such groups are getting out of hand,

M. trusting that, in accordance with its statement on Article 8a of the EEC Treaty, the conference will show the firm political determination to take the decisions required to complete the internal market referred to in this article by 1 January 1993, particularly the decisions required for implementing the programme proposed by the Commission in its White Paper on the internal market,

N. whereas the political declaration of the governments of the Member States on the signing of the Single European Act on freedom of movement refers to cooperation between Member States, but 'without prejudice to the powers of the Community',

O. whereas it was not possible for an agreement on the operation of external borders to be signed in December 1990,

P. noting that eight Member States now belong to the Schengen Group and subscribe to its agreements,

Q. whereas the signing of the Schengen Implementing Agreement and the Convention on Asylum show that, given the political will, the measures set out in the White Paper are feasible,

R. having regard to the letter from Chancellor Kohl and President Mitterrand to the President-in-Office of the Council (published on Sunday, 9 and Monday, 10 December 1990 in Le Monde), proposing that certain issues currently dealt with as part of intergovernmental cooperation be transferred to the sphere of activities of the Union, for example, immigration, visa policy, the right of asylum, the prevention of drug abuse and the fight against internationally organized crime,

S. whereas the European Council meeting in Rome in December 1990 noted that there was a backlog in the introduction of free movement of persons,

T. noting that the European Council meeting in Rome in December 1990 wanted to explore the possibilities of granting the Community greater powers as regards freedom of movement,

U. noting that on 8 April 1991 the Council of State of the Kingdom of the Netherlands expressed serious objections concerning parts of the supplementary Schengen Agreement of 19 June 1990 and therefore proposed to the government that the draft law should not be sent to the Second Chamber of the States-General,

V .noting that the supplementary Schengen agreement is being viewed more and more as an experiment, test bed or laboratory, and whereas account can therefore be taken in the Community proposals of the numerous criticisms concerning the weaknesses and inadequate provisions in the supplementary agreement,

W. whereas a sizeable proportion of residents in the European Community have right of residence in the Community but do not have European citizenship; whereas such residents may have lived many years in the Community, paid taxes and made a valuable contribution to the Community and should not suffer adversely as a result of proposals on the free movement of persons;

1. Insists that the Commission submit proposals before 1 December 1991 for the measures required for achieving the free movement of persons laid down in the Treaty before the end of 1992 and for 'compensatory measures', and urges it, when it does so, to heed the remarks on the transcript in Section III of the explanatory statement;

2. Considers, given the imperative nature of the provisions of Article 8a of the EEC Treaty, that freedom of movement of persons and the other freedoms set out therein, fall within the terms of reference of the Community;

3. Recalls what was said on this subject in the Commission's White Paper on the internal market and in the Member States' Declaration on Article 8a contained in the Final Act of the Single European Act;

4. Considers that responsibility for legislative decisions on the free movement of persons cannot be taken away from the Court of Justice of the European Communities nor can such decisions be drawn up without the participation of the European Parliament;

5. Calls on the Commission to take responsibility for drawing up, as a matter of urgency, appropriate proposals with precise objectives allowing the Community's internal frontiers to be opened up without delay on 1 January 1993, in particular in the fields where intergovernmental cooperation has not had the expected results;

6. Insists that the Commission suspend its participation in political cooperation working parties unless the necessary progress is made at Community level;

7. Makes it emphatically clear that if the Commission does not fulfil its duties, the appropriate conclusions will be drawn;

8. Calls on the Council to assist the Commission in drawing up the proposals required for achieving the free movement of persons laid down in the Treaty;

9. Calls on the bodies of European Political Cooperation to transfer the coordination of the working parties dealing with free movement of persons, the crossing of external frontiers and internal security to the Commission, if Community powers prove to be inadequate;

10 .Considers that an assessment should be made of the ways in which police forces can be given operational instruments to enable them effectively to take preventive or punitive action against those whose criminal activities are facilitated by the abolition of border controls;

11. Considers it appropriate to give thought to creating Community authorities to combat international criminal offences such as the laundering of money, terrorism, the illicit trade in arms, espionage and drug-trafficking;

12. Hopes that common rules will be adopted on arms trading, immigration, visas and controls at external frontiers, so as to prevent differing national rules from hindering the free movement of persons within the Community;

13. Calls on the Commission and the Council to keep the European Parliament informed every three months as to the content and detail of progress made on all proposals relating to the free movement of persons and security in the EC, and also on the activities of the coordinators' group, so that it may express an opinion thereon in good time;

14. Calls on the intergovernmental conference - notwithstanding its view that the issues of free movement of persons and internal security already fall within the Community's sphere of activities under existing law - to amend the text of the Treaties so as to provide an explicit basis for Community power in all matters relating to free movement of persons within the Community, external frontiers and internal security;

15. Considers that there is an urgent need to draw up and adopt a European Charter of fundamental principles governing the free movement of persons so that such principles may be used to determine and adapt any measures regulating or restricting such freedom in any way adopted by the Community and/or the Member States;

16. Calls on the Commission to ensure that data protection legislation is harmonized at Community level so that Community citizens are legally entitled to initiate proceedings against the authorities concerned before the European Court of Justice,

17. Points out that democratic monitoring of all measures relating to free movement of persons and security within the Community is indispensable;

18. Calls on national parliaments to examine and discuss the supplementary agreement thoroughly and to make full use of their autonomous legislative powers;

19. Points out that any proposals on free movement of persons must have a proper regard for civil liberties;

20. Insists that any proposal introduced by the Commission for a common asylum policy must have proper regard for humanitarian principles and proper respect for international obligations;

21. Insists that proposals on the free movement of persons should ensure that non-EEC nationals, lawfully resident in the European Community, should suffer no discrimination;

22. Calls on the Commission to collaborate with the European Parliament to ensure that a Community representative is made responsible for refugees and another for data protection;

23. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.