At a hearing on the future of the Schengen zone, representatives of the Parliament and civil society, but also the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU and the Commission, expressed concern at recent and numerous infringements of the principle of freedom of movement through the temporary reintroduction, some years ago, of controls on the internal borders in certain member states. Schengen, a major achievement for European citizens, is in danger, said Portuguese MEP Carlos Coelho. The last three years have been dramatic, with internal borders becoming the new normal. Schengen has been made into a scapegoat, the lead rapporteur on the reform of the Schengen Information System lamented, but the member states would do better to focus on security measures and the Schengen acquis, which they have not done enough to implement, for instance on the external borders.
The Bulgarian home affairs Minister Valentin Radev took a similar line, stressing that it was problematic that borders that had disappeared between certain countries had been reinstated, such as the one between Sweden and Denmark. The Minister welcomed the support of the Parliament to re-establish Schengen as soon as possible.
As this hearing took place, a proposal to revise the Schengen Borders Code, authorising the reintroduction of controls on the internal borders in the event of major security risks for up to three years, had been on the table of the Council of the EU and Parliament since September 2017. This proposal comes with stricter controls for the Commission, for instance, which was not to the liking of countries such as France and Germany, which requested the reform, but nonetheless attracted the disapproval of other member states, which were opposed to extended internal controls. Several of them also wish to examine this dossier in order to call for Bulgaria and Romania to be able to join Schengen.
Parliament’s rapporteur on this dossier, Tanja Fajon (S&D, Slovenia), voiced concerns that this proposal would legalise illegal things and said that she would do all in her power to ensure that Schengen once again becomes the integration project it started life as. The MEP will present a draft report on 20 March. She considers that internal controls as extended in certain member states, such as Germany or Austria, are in any event unjustified.
There are currently six countries still carrying out these controls on certain parts of their borders or, for France, all of them, France having been permitted to do so on the grounds of the terrorist threat.
For the others, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Denmark and Norway, it was possible to extend controls related to secondary migration movements and the security concerns they invoked after November 2017 on the basis of article 25 of the Schengen Code. They will run until 12 March 2018 and the Commission is currently checking their justifications.
European Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos takes the view that these temporary controls are legitimate in times of attacks on security and serious threats, but that they should not become a permanent threat. A proposal has been made to tighten up procedural safeguards. Controls must be a last resort, he said. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)