Spain and France will carry out systematic checks on non-EU nationals who arrive in Andorra by helicopter

People outside theSchengen area to reach theLa Caubella national heliport must immediately undergo a security check ofSpain i Franceas established in the border management agreement between the European Union and the principality which is definitive and is already published. Now the Council of the European Union initiates the procedures for its signature and subsequently Andorra and the European Union they will also sign and ratify it European Parliament and the General Council

The aforementioned measure included in the agreement is an amendment to the will of the Government. In a meeting last June with the delegate of Government from Spain to Catalonia, Carlos Prietothe head of government asked that the flights in helicopter have one regime similar to that of the land border; that is to say, that no systematic checks were carried out. This end will eventually not occur and the heliport will count as the outer boundary Schengen.

The document emphasizes that if a person enters Andorra directly from outside theSchengen area without having previously passed through other border controls, “el Principality of Andorra immediately notify the French Republic or to Kingdom of Spain“. At the same time, it is determined that Andorra guarantees that this person is subjected to border control by the authorities of neighboring countries.

The agreement establishes that people who apply for a residence permit a Andorra they will have to pass a security assessment that will take into account the European threat intelligence and alert systems. Once these controls have been passed, Andorran residents will be able to move through the Schengen area for short stays under the conditions established by the agreement, without having to complete the registration of theEntry/Exit System and, where applicable, without a visa or authorization ETIAS (European Information System i Travel Authorization). The exchange of information between the Andorran police and the bodies of the Schengen area will take place through the SIENA platformthe Europol agency’s network for exchanging operational and strategic police information.

Readmission in 24 hours

Another relevant element of theagreement is that the principality will have only 24 hours to refuse the readmission of a non-EU national with legal residence a Andorra at the time that person entered a state Schengen. This casuistry will occur when the individual does not comply with the conditions of stay in one of the Community countries, which may request readmission including the information that certifies that the person had a residence permit issued by principality If there is no response, the request will be considered accepted.

On the other hand, when France or Spain detect that an applicant has an alert SIX (Schengen Information System) of refusal of entry or return, they must consult theSchengen state that generated the alert, and he will have ten calendar days to respond. If there is what is known as administrative silence, it will be considered that there is no opposition to the issuance of the Andorran residency.

Another case detailed in the document that has been made public is that the Principality will have five days to communicate to Spain or France the decision on a residence permit of a third country national, be it an issue, renewal withdrawn or refusal. Andorra it will have this obligation whether the resolution is motivated by a European alert or internal security reasons.

The border management agreement complements what Andorra arrived with the European Union last March, which involved continuing with the current regime of random controls at the borders and avoiding a scenario of systematic inspections that the Government rejected. This question will be one of the main topics that will be discussed during the visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain, Jose Manuel Albaresnext Monday. The text can be consulted on the website of the EU and also in Catalan at page andorra.ue.ad.