The period from 2016 to 2021 was dominated by the use that was made of many recommendations, particularly during the pandemic; these recommendations were improperly applied by the very governments that had voted for them. The Commission adopted a practical handbook for border guards in 2019, proposed guidelines and set up a high-level ‘Schengen Forum’, which met for the first time on 20 November 2020.
The institution came in for criticism from the Parliament and academic circles for...