Brussels, 05/06/2012 (Agence Europe) - More than a year after the arrival of thousands of migrants on European shores and the beginning of the first reflections on the Schengen area, EU home affairs ministers could finally define a little more precisely, at their meeting in Luxembourg on 7 June, the changes that they intend to bring to the area of free-movement and the conditions in which member states will be able to re-introduce border controls.
This is the objective of the Danish Presidency, in any case, which is banking on a general position of the member states at this Home Affairs Council - both on the internal border controls package and on that of the Schengen evaluation system (the other proposal put on the table last September, which is also very sensitive, with the member states wanting to be able to adopt this text by majority, without the Parliament which would only be consulted.)
This discussion on Schengen governance will in any case take place in a different political context as the most fervent supporters of a strong reform of the free-movement area were the French president Nicolas Sarkozy and his minister, Claude Guéant, who had to hand over to a Socialist government on 16 May which is very anxious to show how different its style and tone is from that of its predecessors. In the opinion of a source from the Council, this French political change is indeed already noticeable as the options put on the table today are more prudent, if not “fuzzy”, this source continues - a sign, according to the source, that although the Schengen countries are ready, as the previous French government wished, to strengthen the Schengen area and to protect against breaches of external borders, they are not however in favour of an in-depth questioning.
At his last Council in Luxembourg on 26 April, the French minister, Claude Guéant, together in a joint letter with his German counterpart Hans-Peter Friedrich, had annoyed some of his colleagues, including the Belgian minister, Joëlle Milquet, by asking for the possibility for a member state to reintroduce its border controls on its own initiative for a period of 30 days, when persistent failure of a State to manage its external borders was noticed. Greece is regularly accused of this. More than the substance of the letter, it was especially the form that had caused annoyance, with the Belgian minister thus saying that she was “instrumentalised” by a letter sent a few days before the second round of the French election. On 1 June, Commissioner Cecilia Malmström had herself stated loud and strong that the Franco-German proposals were no longer either a current issue or on the table at the Council. It was a subtle source, as the Guéant-Friedrich letter fed the discussions anyway and certain points were taken up again.
Thus, according to the last compromises discussed, the member states agree on the fact that the Commission will not be able to be substituted for national governments when it comes to deciding to reintroduce border controls. They are also on the same wavelength as far as the rules are concerned which govern the re-establishment of controls for a planned sporting or political event (like Euro 2012). The Commission wanted to change the rules and to submit this type of case to a European decision. The French and German ministers deemed this change unacceptable. In the latest discussions, this role has come back again just to the member states, which have a duty to notify their measures to their neighbours at least 4 weeks in advance, according to one source.
On the other hand, and this is one of the most sensitive parts of the reform, the French (and German) argument has been less heard as far as a failing State is concerned. Guéant had proposed a margin of manoeuvre of 30 days, and renewable, which would be left up to a government. According to the last ideas on the table, this type of control could now be decided for a period of six months, renewable three times (two years maximum) but the difference would be in the fact that here a very definite European decision would be necessary, a source explains. That would be possible in the case of continual failure (observed over more than three months, in spite of the technical aid received beforehand, like Frontex teams for example) and no country could decide unilaterally.
Another kind of case foreseen is that of an emergency situation, which cannot by its nature be predicted, like a terrorist attack or even a sudden migratory influx which would put national security in danger. In this particular case, a member state could unilaterally re-establish border controls for ten days, which would also be renewable, before turning to its partners (the Commission proposed 5 days). All these options must still be discussed, however, between now and 7 June, and nothing has yet been decided.
On Thursday, ministers will also take stock of the asylum package, which they want to finalise before the end of 2012 and to which was added a new proposal on 30 May on the Eurodac database, as the Council wanted.
Finally, on Friday, as far as the justice part is concerned, progress is expected on several texts put forward by Commissioner Viviane Reding, like the directive on access to a lawyer at the start of police custody or that on the recognition of judgments on civil and commercial issues (the so-called Brussels I regulation). On these two points the Presidency is counting on a general position. Other points are planned on the activities of the European agency on fundamental rights and on the financing of the Justice and citizenship programmes. (SP/transl.fl)