TNAG-2952-FCO40-4229-Hong-Kong-visa-free-travel-for-British-Nationals-(Overseas)--1993 — Page 34

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Schengen

1109

046030

MDLIAN 6975

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HUD 3+5/3

RECEIVE

14SEP 1993

DESK OFFICE INDEX

FA

I CABI

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FM PARIS

TO PRIORITY FCO

TELNO 890

OF 131734Z SEPTEMBER 93

AND TO INFO PRIORITY UKREP BRUSSELS, EC POSTS, HOME OFFICE

100

MY TELNO 856: SCHENGEN AND IMMIGRATION

SUMMARY

1.

The French seem confident that they can implement Schengen this winter and regard a few months delay beyond the December deadline as saleable to other Schengen states. The constitutional debate over immigration (see TUR) is unlikely to affect this timetable. France has continuing reservations about the practical security problems but these no longer appear to be absolute preconditions.

DETAIL

2.

After Lamassoure's (Minister for European Affairs) outburst in April when he upset France's Schengen partners by his lack of commitment to an end-of-year deadline, the French have been less prepared to articulate concerns about Schengen in terms of pre-conditions. Preparations for implementation have continued: on 31 July France submitted the instruments of ratification to the Luxembourg government without publicity.

3. When I saw Bazire, the Prime Minister's Directeur du Cabinet and closest official adviser, on 9 September, he was confident that the Government had got the question of domestic law on immigration on to the right lines. The Deputy Secretary General of the SGCI (Cabinet Office European Secretariat equivalent) has also confirmed

that the debate over constitutional revision as a result of Pasqua's Immigration and Nationality Act is not expected to influence the timing of implementation of the Schengen agreement.

4. I asked Bazire whether the use of Schengen as justification for changing the Constitution meant that France would definitely put Schengen into effect in December. Bazire said that French public opinion, seeing Schengen as the means of preventing immigration by people turned away from other EC countries, would not object to its implementation. France would implement in

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