On Tuesday 14 December, S&D MEPs expressed “serious concerns” about the revised Schengen area rules proposed by the European Commission on Tuesday evening (see EUROPE 12853/1).
“The Schengen area, representing free movement and the end of internal borders in the EU, has suffered significantly as a result of national knee-jerk responses to irregular migration, perceived terrorist threat, and - more recently - the pandemic. While Commission proposals to deal with future pandemics are welcome, there are concerns among S&D members that the revised Schengen rules now being put on the table will further politicise internal border controls as a migration tool”, the group said in a statement.
“Instead of seeking to fully restore free movement, the Commission appears to be giving national governments more manoeuvre to introduce border controls within the EU”, commented Birgit Sippel (Germany).
As for “the secondary movement of asylum-seekers, the Commission’s proposals on entry and returns procedures between member states will only fuel unnecessary internal conflicts at a time when we need to be building solidarity, which is best achieved in the legislation currently being dealt with by the co-legislators in the Migration Pact”, the MEP added.
However, French MEP Fabienne Keller (Renew Europe) welcomed the reform. “In the face of new challenges - the health crisis, the terrorist and security threat, the instrumentalisation of migrants at external borders - it is time to provide Schengen with strengthened governance. I therefore fully support implementing political stewardship of the Schengen area around national interior ministers”, she said, although the reform only incorporates the concept of the Schengen Forums launched in 2020 and bringing together Member States and the European Parliament on this subject and not just interior ministers.
The EPP Group also welcomed the various elements of the reform, including the mechanism for collective decision-making when a threat affects several Member States. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)