BRUSSELS - New proposals from the Dutch EU Presidency for incorporating the Schengen agreement on passport-free travel into the EU's treaty have made significant concessions to Irish and British concerns but do not go far enough, according to Irish diplomats, Patrick Smyth reports.
It has now emerged that the Dutch have decided not to present a new draft treaty to the special May 23rd summit in Noordwijk, designed as a get-to-know-you session for the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, because of fears that to do so might affect the French election two days later.
Yesterday's new Dutch text on Schengen, presented here to ministers' representatives at a meeting of the Inter-Governmental Conference (IGC), provides for the incorporation into the EU treaty "lock, stock and barrel" of all the agreements reached by the EU's 13 signatories of the accord, some 2,000 pages dealing with issues from police co-operation to immigration procedures. Ireland and Britain would retain their right to keep their own border controls and common travel area.
Irish diplomats are concerned the proposals will create a separate decision-making core of 13 in charge of part of the EU apparatus with a veto on subsequent involvement of both countries.