Following the provisions of the Agreement between the European Union, the European Community and the Swiss Confederation concerning the Swiss Confederation’s association with the implementation, application, and development of the Schengen acquis, the Council of the European Union published on December, 5th, 2008, Decision 2008/903/EC, on the full application of the provisions of the Schengen acquis in the Swiss Confederation.

The Agreement provided that the provisions of the Schengen acquis would apply in the Swiss Confederation only after the adoption of a Council Decision to that effect, following the verification that the necessary conditions for the application of that acquis have been met. This is therefore the legal instrument which has been adopted in order to set out the full application.

Therefore, the Council has verified, in accordance with the applicable Schengen evaluation procedures as set out in the Decision of the Executive Committee of September, 16th  1998 setting up a Standing Committee on the evaluation and implementation of Schengen (SCH/Com-ex (98) 26 def.), that the necessary conditions for the application of the Schengen acquis have been met in other areas of the Schengen acquis, such as Land Borders, Police Cooperation, the Schengen Information System, and Visas.

On November, 27th, 2008, the Council concluded that the conditions in each of the areas mentioned had been fulfilled by the Swiss Confederation. Nevertheless, as regards the evaluation and implementation of the Schengen acquis at air borders, further evaluation visits should be carried out at a later stage.

Consequently, the provisions referred to in Annexes A and B to the Agreement and any act constituting a further development of one or more of these provisions, will apply to the Swiss Confederation, in its relations with Kingdom of Belgium, the Czech Republic, the Kingdom of Denmark, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic of Estonia, the Hellenic Republic, the Kingdom of Spain, the French Republic, the Italian Republic, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Poland, the Portuguese Republic, the Republic of Slovenia, the Slovak Republic, the Republic of Finland, and the Kingdom of Sweden as from December, 12th, 2008.

In relation to the provisions of the acquis put into effect by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as well as those applicable to Cyprus, Romania and Bulgaria on the basis of their respective Accession Acts, will apply to the Swiss Confederation as from December, 12th, 2008.

To the extent that those provisions regulate the abolition of checks on persons at internal borders, they shall apply as from March, 29th, 2009 to air borders, as far as the evaluation previously mentioned has a positive outcome.

All restrictions on the use of the Schengen Information System, for which the Commission has recently adopted the migration from SIS 1+ system to the Second Generation one SIS II, by the Member States concerned will be lifted as from December, 8th 2008.

This Decision entered into force on December, 5th, 2008.