Brussels, 01/09/2015 (Agence Europe) - The question of the repercussions from the migrant crisis on the Schengen area of free movement came to the fore on Monday 31 August. This follows a statement by Chancellor Merkel in which she said that without an agreement on the fair distribution of asylum seekers between EU countries “the question of the future of the Schengen area of free movement will become even more acute”.
According to a report by Reuters, the German Chancellor affirmed during a summer school that she did not want to undermine these agreements.
Earlier in the day, during a visit to Calais, the French Prime Minister, Manuel Valls, also pointed out that the Schengen area was not exclusively based on the abolition of internal border controls but also on strengthening the EU's external borders.
Doubts about Schengen's future
The idea of re-establishing internal border controls between Schengen member states (currently 26 of them) have so far not been raised by any of the political leaders but a number of different positions have been put forward that question the way these rules operate, particularly in the context of the terrorist attacks at the end of August in the Thalys train. The Belgian Prime Minister, Charles Michel, expressed a wish to see the rules regarding free movement adapted to these new threats (see EUROPE 11373).
As part of the migration crisis, which is affecting Greece, Hungary, as well as Austria and neighbouring Western Balkans countries, doubts have arisen regarding the future of Schengen, expressed by the German Minister for the Interior, Thomas de Maizière and the Austrian Foreign Minister, Sebastian Kurz, despite the fact that no other calls for further reform of Schengen have been launched (see EUROPE 11372).
These doubts were certainly encouraged by the feeling that certain countries, such as Germany and France, believe that their partners are not correctly applying the Dublin rules, particularly the obligation of taking asylum seekers' digital fingerprints. This situation means that the latter can leave for European countries much more easily, which has been the case recently in Hungary, where hundreds of migrants, including asylum seekers, have been able to catch the trains to Austria and Germany.
Interviewed on Tuesday 1 September, the spokesperson for the European Commission on Home Affairs, Natasha Bertaud, acknowledged that “If Schengen is to function well, all the rules must be applied”. She added that the Commission “does not want to pursue the member states but we are adamant that the rules must be applied”. She repeated that the Commission had opened 32 infringement procedures on the five texts of the “Asylum Package” and that new administrative letters had been sent out over the past few days.
The European Commission, however, does intend to begin a reflection exercise on the Dublin system, which could possibly lead to it being revised. The Commission is aware that the system is not working in an optimum way and has planned for a consultation to begin in 2016 on the Dublin rules. This work could possibly begin earlier in the context of the proposals that Jean-Claude Juncker will make on 9 September in Strasbourg and the possible presentation of work on a permanent refugee resettlement mechanism, which is considered as a “structural derogation” to the so-called Dublin system.
With regard to Schengen and the way it operates, the 2013 reform did in fact provide member states with the possibility of setting up internal border controls in the event of strong migratory pressure for a limited time (a maximum period of 30 days). This is what Austria is currently doing, for example, with its controls of vehicles at its border with Hungary. Nonetheless, the Commission has not excluded other changes to Schengen. Bertaud added “we can never rule out future changes being necessary but the principle (the border free area) remains the same”.
Eastern EU countries against redistribution
With regard to the resettlement mechanism for 40,000 people and solidarity, which failed to materialise this summer, Spain provided Germany with assurances on Tuesday 1 September of its “constructive attitude”. During a meeting with Chancellor Merkel, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy informed Germany that “the Spanish position will be constructive (during the next meeting of European Home Secretaries and Justice Ministers). Europe needs agreements and solidarity”. Although on 20 July, his country agreed to take in a proportion of asylum seekers that was well below what the Commission had imagined for Spain, at the end of May in its Agenda for Migration.
During a Special Council organised by the Luxembourg Presidency of the EU, Spain only agreed to take in 1,300 people, as opposed to the 4,288 planned by the Commission. The comments made by Chancellor Merkel regarding Schengen appears, however, more directed to “its eastern neighbours in an effort to get them to agree to this redistribution mechanism”, explained one European source.
The most fierce opposition is expected to come from eastern European countries in the EU again, particularly the so-called 'Visegrad group', which brings together Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The leaders of these countries are expected to hold a summit by 14 September, the date of the special meeting planned in Brussels (see EUROPE 11378), to reaffirm their refusal to share the distribution of asylum seekers between EU countries.
On Thursday 3 September, the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, will come in person to discuss the subject of immigration with Jean-Claude Juncker. The meeting between the two leaders was decided over the past couple of days. All the different options are on the table. Orban may request assistance, financial or in the shape of a “hotspot” (centre to manage migrants arriving and distinguish potential refugees from economic migrants) or argue his hardline on the well-known distribution “quotas” for asylum seekers and request changes to the Dublin system so that he is not obliged to respect the rules in force.
According to new Frontex estimates made on Tuesday 1 September, almost 23,000 people arrived in Greece in just a single week. 9,400 migrants were counted this week at the border between Hungary and Serbia. In total, according to the IOM, 350,000 people have crossed the Mediterranean since January 2015. (Solenn Paulic)