The European Parliament, meeting in plenary session, was about to adopt, on the evening of Friday 19 June, its resolution on the Schengen free movement area while Covid-19 continues (https://bit.ly/30Yejfu ), which was intended to criticise the lack of coordination between Member States and their hasty decision to re-establish internal border controls in a disorganised manner in March. With this text, Parliament was also expected to call on the Member States to have a better, more concerted response in the event of a second wave.
The day before, MEPs had debated the issue in the presence of the Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, who had confirmed to them that the forthcoming Pact on Asylum and Migration would include a reflection on the Schengen area and that it would be necessary to better prepare for crises such as those of Covid-19 (see EUROPE 12509/3). The Commissioner had already raised it in the Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties (LIBE) in May (see EUROPE 12482/16).
A welcome reflection, commented LIBE Committee chair Juan Fernando López Aguilar (S&D, Spain) later on Thursday, who is ready to embark on this reform work and address current shortcomings, citing the fact that the current Schengen Code only provides for external health threats.
This reflection should lead to security, in particular by providing “corridors” for border workers or seasonal workers who have been hamstrung by internal border control measures.
The Parliament resolution should not be changed, as the only amendments that had all been tabled by the ID group were expected to be rejected, said one parliamentary source.
In this text, MEPs recall that “the Schengen area is a concrete success story, much appreciated by more than 400 million people”. Parliament was also of the opinion that “while fully supporting the public health measures taken to limit the spread of Covid-19 through social distancing and, in particular, the compulsory lockdown that Member States have decreed on their territory”, the “formal notifications contained “little justification as to the appropriateness of border controls to limit the spread of Covid-19”.
Parliament recalls that internal border controls should remain exceptional and should be used only as a last resort. It is therefore necessary to check whether other measures could be as relevant, or even more, to achieve the same objective.
Parliament generally regrets the collateral consequences of this reintroduction at certain internal borders, in particular the excessive waiting times in the absence of adequate hygiene infrastructures and sufficient physical distances. It regrets that it is not sufficiently informed about these measures and, in general, about the state of the area.
Parliament also calls on the last countries still applying restrictions in Schengen to lift them as soon as possible. It also recalls that Bulgaria and Romania should join the area as soon as possible. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)