Brussels, 04/07/2012 (Agence Europe) - Allegedly illegal checks by countries at the internal borders of the Schengen area are “unacceptable”, bemoaned the rapporteur on the assessment mechanism of the Schengen border-free area, Carlos Coelho (EPP, Portugal) during the debate in the European Parliament (EP) in Strasbourg on Wednesday 4 July.
MEPs discussed the liberties that member states have taken recently with the rules of the Schengen border code, for example, the increased police patrols in the border area between France and Italy in the spring of 2011 when thousands of migrants arrived in Italy. The debate considered all the monitoring measures used by national governments, measures which, in some instances, led the European Commission to take the first steps in dispute settlement and launch exchanges of letters, as happened in May 2011 with the former Danish government which decided to reinstate customs controls at its borders with Germany and Sweden.
“There was an increase in cases of infringement of the Schengen rules with our fellow citizens having to face checks which should not even be taking place”, Coelho said
The European Commission with responsibility in this area, Cecilia Malmström, said during the debate that 11 proceedings had been opened against ten member states between December 2011 and April 2012. She mentioned cases involving Germany (with the Czech Republic) and the Netherlands and its mobile surveillance units along the border with Belgium. In all these cases, the Commission has sought clarification of the authorities involved in order to ascertain that the arrangements in place do not constitute border controls. It is still awaiting a response from Germany. In the Netherlands, several complaints have been lodged in the national courts which are also looking to determine if the measures taken and their findings will possibly be used by the Commission as a basis for action. In the Franco-Italian case of spring 2011, the Commission also sent a series of letters to Rome and Paris but, following examination, there proved to be no grounds for action against either. Malmström concluded that both countries had remained within the law and had not breached the Schengen code, even though the spirit of the area of free movement had been broken. In her first health check of the Schengen area, published on 16 May of this year, while the Commission had, for the very first time, set out in writing all national measures that could potentially breach the Schengen rules, Malmström concluded that the Schengen area was working rather well.
This inconsistency was picked up by several MEPs on Wednesday, including Judith Sargentini (Greens/EFA, Italy), railing at the Commission's double speak on police checks. “You tell us that it goes 'quack, quack', that it looks like a duck but that it isn't a duck!” she said, poking fun at Malmström.
MEPs also used the debate on enforcement of the Schengen acquis to make clear their great disappointment at the Council and the decision of European home affairs ministers of 7 June not to allow the EP to play its part in the reform of the Schengen assessment mechanism. Like many MEPs, German Manfred Weber called on the Council to “rethink its decision”. Malmström backed this call. She also asked the Council to give thought to its position and called on the new Cypriot Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers to “improve” the text passed by EU home affairs ministers. (SP/transl.rt)