Brussels, 29/11/2011 (Agence Europe) - On 29 November, the MEPs of the committee on civil liberties of the EP (LIBE) adopted the report by Carlos Coehlo (EPP, Portugal) on the new Schengen evaluation mechanism, giving it a mandate to negotiate the new rules put on the table by the European Commission on 16 September with the Council.
An evaluation mechanism (assessing the application of the rules by the Schengen member states) will be reinforced in this case so as to delay for as long as possible a country's reintroduction of checks on its internal borders (this possibility is laid down in the other September proposal on the amendment of the Schengen border code).
In the adoption of the report by 43 votes (four abstentions, no votes against), the MEPs have first of all supported the Commission's idea of reinforcing “mutual trust” between the 22 countries of the free-movement area and of ensuring that there are no illegal internal controls, according to a press release. They recommended the idea of carrying out more regular unannounced visits by European experts on the ground, as the Commission suggested. These missions will look at how the member states are applying the Schengen rules and will allow the experts to be satisfied that no irregular controls are being carried out. In 2011, the Commission sent no fewer than four official requests, to France and Italy first of all, then to Denmark and the Netherlands, to ensure that they were complying with the Schengen acquis. In the case of Denmark, the Commission noted a number of discrepancies.
But in all logic, these inspections and checks will be carried out as a priority on the external borders of the EU, which need to be reinforced, the MEPs said. And in the event of any problems with the country in the front line of migratory flows (Greece, Italy or Malta, for instance), an action plan will be developed and a number of aid mechanisms proposed for it, such as sending expert missions or missions from the Frontex agency, for a period of six months. Only when this “monitoring” is over can the idea be put forward of this state bringing back controls on its internal borders, the MEPs continued, here again very much on the same page as the Commission. This measure would come in only as a last resort and once a threat to internal security or public order has been identified.
The MEPs furthermore stated that this new assessment mechanism should also apply to the candidate countries to the Schengen zone, such as Bulgaria and Romania, “in order to ascertain that they meet all the preconditions for joining the Schengen area”, the press release continues. The MEPs add that any state that has fulfilled the obligations laid down must be allowed to join the free-movement area “without significant delays”.
Carlos Coehlo's report, which was adopted on 29 November, did not focus on the precise terms of the exceptional control measures in the event of any problems in a given country, as these were dealt with in the proposal on the Schengen border code and have proved much more sensitive. Although member states on the whole welcomed the Commission's proposals on strengthening monitoring of the Schengen system, a Council source stated a few days ago, they still regret the central role that the Commission plans to give itself when it comes to deciding on implementation of internal controls. This decision-related aspect of the proposals on overall governance of the Schengen Area will also be covered by the LIBE committee, which is due to take a stance on the matter in 2012. (SP/transl.fl)