The European Parliament will take a position, on Wednesday 16 March, on the proposed Schengen Area Evaluation Mechanism of June 2021 (see EUROPE 12731/1) and, although only consulted, may distance itself from the EU Council on the issue of unannounced inspections in Member States.
The Parliament thus proposes, in addition to surprise inspections which must not be announced under any circumstances, a new category of so-called “short notice” inspection, with a “maximum 24 hours” notice for this type of visit.
“This type of short-notice inspection should only take place if the main purpose of the inspection is to carry out a random check of a Member State’s implementation of the Schengen acquis”, explains the draft report by Sara Skyttedal (EPP, Sweden).
The Council of the EU, which validated its mandate on 3 March, foresees that unannounced visits to Member States, accompanied by 24 hours’ notice, will be possible in a limited but broader range of cases.
“It should be possible to organise unannounced visits to evaluate the application of the Schengen acquis at internal borders, emerging or systemic problems that could have a significant impact on the functioning of the Schengen area or where there are reasons to consider that a Member State is seriously neglecting its obligations under the Schengen acquis. These visits should normally take place with 24 hours’ notice”.
Unannounced visits to internal borders, decided in particular when the Commission has firm reasons to believe that serious violations of fundamental rights are taking place, would not be accompanied by prior notice, as such prior notification would run counter to the principle of the visit.
The European Parliament also requests that the institution be represented in the team of experts conducting the evaluations and inspections. However, it is only consulted and does not act as a co-legislator in the strict sense.
Link to the draft report and amendments: https://aeur.eu/f/rq; https://aeur.eu/f/rr (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)