The French Presidency of the EU Council will seek agreement on a general approach amending various elements of the Schengen Borders Code at the EU Council of Interior Ministers in Luxembourg on 10 June and national ambassadors will be invited to prepare the ground for this agreement on 1 June.
The reform covers four aspects: the instrumentalisation of migrants, non-essential travel to and within the EU in the event of a pandemic, procedures for the transfer of irregular migrants between Member States and safeguards in the event of the reintroduction of internal border controls.
The French Presidency has made several changes to the Commission’s initial proposal, notably on transfers between Member States of irregular migrants, who can be returned to a neighbouring country as part of a police cooperation operation. The criterion of joint police patrols had to be clarified here, highlighting the explicitly voluntary nature of the use of this procedure by the Member States.
On the framework for the reintroduction and extension of internal border controls, the Presidency wanted to make the criteria and justifications provided by the Member States for the reintroduction and extension of controls more objective.
It makes the Commission’s opinion mandatory where there is doubt about the necessity or proportionality of the reintroduction or extension. And this opinion must be given after twelve months.
Taking into account the Court of Justice of the EU’s judgment of 26 April (see EUROPE 12939/9), which gave a stricter reading to the modalities for renewing internal border control measures, the Presidency proposed to limit these provisions for renewing border controls to major exceptional situations and to strengthen the risk assessment. The Commission is also expected to issue a recommendation to identify actions and conditions for lifting these controls, where necessity and proportionality are at stake.
The compromise submitted to the Member States also provides that where the Member State considers that this additional period of 6 months is not sufficient, taking into account the persistence of the threat, it shall specify the date by which the controls shall be lifted at the latest. Until the date of the suppression of internal border controls, the Member State concerned will have to provide a regular risk assessment.
First assessment of the new Frontex mandate
On 10 June, the ministers will also exchange views on the Frontex agency, which, among other things, should reach a contingent of 10,000 officers by 2027. They will be invited to say how they think they will follow this trajectory. The target for the end of 2021 was 6,500 for all categories and a capacity of 5,900 has been reached. They will also discuss the governance of the agency.
Link to the exchange of views on Frontex: https://aeur.eu/f/1v3 (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)