Brussels, 01/06/2012 (Agence Europe) - The members of the civil liberties committee (LIBE) at the European Parliament have voiced their concern about review of Schengen area governance. They were speaking on Thursday 31 May during a debate on the first health-check relating to the free movement of persons (see EUROPE 10616). Renate Weber (ALDE, Romania) called on the EU Council to “play straight” and to abide by the rules of loyal cooperation between European institutions.
On the whole, MEPs welcome the approach taken by the European Commission which plans to take stock of the Schengen situation every six months in a report, including on border controls and migratory flows. They were nonetheless concerned by the fact that the EP had been put to one side by member states concerning the proposals for reform tabled last September, especially that on the Schengen evaluation mechanism. Opinions of these two European institutions continue to differ with regard to the legal base, the EP wanting to be involved in any change to the rules while a majority of the Council is content with simply consulting the EP, something which Weber finds “unacceptable”. The coordinators called on the chairman of the LIBE committee, Juan Fernando Lopez Aguilar (S&D, Spain), to express his indignation about this to the Council, in writing.
The Commission report is part of the proposals presented in September 2011 at the request of the EU27 in order to strengthen the area of free movement. The Commission, for example, sets out the number of provisional returns to internal borders decided by the Schengen states and the hot spots at EU borders. In its first health-check, the Commission analysis remains cautious. According to the Commission, the Schengen area operates well on the whole although it is under pressure, as has been observed at the Greek-Turkish border. The JHA Council of 7 June will be discussing the matter. (SP/transl.jl)