On 8 July, MEPs called on Member States once again to do everything in their power to restore the Schengen area, which has been put at risk by the Covid-19 pandemic. In adopting the report by Slovenian MEP Tanja Fajon (S&D) by 505 votes to 134 with 54 abstentions, the European Parliament also criticised the fact that six Member States have been carrying out controls at their internal borders since 2015, in connection with migration and terrorism.
From these elected representatives’ point of view, these controls no longer meet the criteria of proportionality and necessity and are therefore unlawful. During a debate held the evening of Tuesday, 6 July, the rapporteur was of the opinion that those countries that “break the rules” should consequently be “prosecuted” in court. Incidentally, the MEP pointed out that Member States have reintroduced internal border controls “up to 268 times” since 2015, “compared to only 35 times over the previous 9 years”.
In Mrs Fajon’s view, the Schengen area was taken “hostage” by Member States during the pandemic, and to this day, “some are putting their own interests ahead of European interests”.
The reform of the Schengen Borders Code announced by the European Commission for this autumn is thus expected to remove “distrust” among Member States.
In the report they adopted, MEPs also express their concern about information regarding Frontex and this agency’s actions at the EU’s external borders. They call for more transparency on its activities, notably those at sea, and for compliance with its incident-reporting obligations.
The European Parliament again stresses in the report that assisting people in distress at sea is a legal obligation and demands that the agency hire the fundamental rights monitors it needs in accordance with its regulation. The European Commission had told the European Parliament at the end of June that Frontex had only hired 20 of the 40 fundamental rights officers specified in its new mandate.
Finally, the European Parliament’s report reiterates its call for Romania and Bulgaria to be integrated into the Schengen area; MEPs say that Croatia has also satisfied the rules, but they remain concerned about reports of human rights violations at Croatia’s borders and call on the country to remedy the shortcomings observed, particularly with regard to staff training, staffing levels, and land border surveillance capacity.
As for the European Commission, it must continue to assess the compliance of border management operations with fundamental rights requirements in all Member States.
Link to the adopted text: https://bit.ly/3AGpetS (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)