Brussels, 28/04/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 28 April 2011, several countries expressed support for French and Italian ideas to boost governance in the Schengen Area set out in a joint letter on 26 April, but have listed conditions for the changes to Schengen and have expressed a divergent range of opinion in this connection.
Greece and Malta say they are open to an updating of the Schengen rules as long as that means a better sharing among the EU27 of illegal immigrants, explained AFP. Changing Schengen must not mean building wars and barriers but should be a step towards solidarity, said Maltese deputy prime minister Tonio Borg, adding that it should lighten the burden on countries on the EU periphery, where the most immigrants end up. Close sources say that Malta is open to debate but wants that to reduce the pressure on Malta itself in terms of dealing with illegal immigrants and does not want any further obstacles to be set up for the circulation of individuals living with the proper papers within the Schengen Area. EU solidarity should be expressed by means of systems to share out illegal immigrants among EU Member States, adds the source, as this is the only real way to reduce the pressure on Malta because simply boosting Frontex or providing extra financial aid are not enough in themselves.
Greece is open to an updating of Schengen but only if its helps Mediterraneanan countries, said Greek foreign minister Dimitris Droutsas, who was due to meet Commissioner Borg in Athens on Wednesday. The two politicians stressed the fact that the Dublin 2 Regulation needs to be updated. The regulation states that the country in which an asylum seeker arrives must be the country that deals with the individual and processes their request. Borg said this system works against the interests of peripheral countries and must be changed
The calls for changes to Dublin 2 are nothing new but are expected to be examined in connection with an updating of Schengen. Sources suggest that most Member States have no desire to change Dublin 2 and the Franco-Italian letter may well state that the aim is to arrive at an EU asylum system in the long run, but it does not suggest any sharing of asylum seekers among Member States.
Germany has not yet any official position, explain close sources. German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle expressed a degree of support on Wednesday for the Franco-Italian ideas about Schengen, welcoming the idea of improving the system, but warned of potential dangers to the freedom to move around the EU, adding that freedom of movement in Europe is such a success story that it should not be renegotiated.
The concern not to reduce the benefits of the Schengen system for Europeans is fully shared by the German interior minister and the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, explain the above sources, but Germany, along with France and other countries, wants to examine a tightening of some of the Schengen rules, like boosting the safeguard clause to temporarily introduce border controls within the EU in special circumstances.
Different sources say that France and Germany agree on this issue although they have agreed to wait to hear what suggestions the European Commission makes on 4 May 2011. Germany is closer to France than Italy on this issue, explains a source because Italy has different interests in the updating of Schengen, like reducing the primary indispensability of the countries responsible for monitoring the EU's external borders on behalf of other Schengen members. The source says that this would be problematic for the German government, but everyone is waiting for the ideas to be formulated by Commissioner Cecilia Malmström.
Thus far, only Spain has expressed reluctance about changing the Schengen rules. Spanish interior minister Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba said changes were not needed and explained in the Spanish media that Schengen works well and there are more effective ways of dealing with the immigration problem facing Italy at the moment.
Romania indirectly expressed support for changes to Schengen on Wednesday 27 April, when Romanian president Traian Basescu said he favoured a strengthening of the Schengen rules to clamp down on illegal immigration but only when Bulgaria and Romania have joined the Schengen Area. He said that both countries could joint Schengen this year and as soon as they join, the Schengen rules should be renegotiated. (S.P./transl.fl)