On Thursday 10 November, MEPs approved Croatia’s entry ticket to the Schengen area by adopting a report by Paulo Rangel (EPP, Portuguese) by 534 votes to 53 with 25 abstentions.
On this occasion, they asked the EU Council to accept Croatia’s entry into the free movement area, as well as the entry of Bulgaria and Romania, which had been the subject of a resolution at a previous plenary session.
On 9 December 2021, the Council of the EU had confirmed that Croatia fulfilled all the necessary conditions to fully apply the Schengen area rules, noted the European Parliament. Member States now have to continue the process and adopt a final decision to lift border controls, requested the MEPs.
They also paid particular attention to the situation surrounding fundamental rights and to the accusations of pushback or violence against migrants involving Croatian border guards over recent years.
MEPs are therefore calling on Croatia “to inform the European Parliament and the EU Council about how it has implemented its action plan for managing the EU’s external borders, and in particular about the independent mechanism for monitoring the actions of police officers” which was set up with the European Commission 2 years ago.
In a debate with MEPs held on Wednesday evening, Commission Vice-President Margarítis Schinás said that Croatia was “the only EU country to have accepted such an independent mechanism” regarding the work carried out by its border guards. Last week, the country also announced that this independent mechanism would be renewed, said the Vice-President.
“It is time for Croatia to join Schengen”, he added, as well as for Bulgaria and Romania, all of whom have met the criteria, both in terms of external border management and mastery of the Schengen Information System.
“The Council of the EU has no excuse to postpone this decision”, commented the rapporteur.
The Czech Presidency of the EU Council intends to propose a formal decision to the Member States regarding the three countries at the December Home Affairs Council.
At this stage, the Netherlands has reportedly still not given off any positive signals, even though unanimity is required; on 14 October in Luxembourg, it even reportedly mentioned during an information briefing given to EU interior ministers about the ongoing difficulties concerning the entry of Romania and Bulgaria. The Dutch position remains key to reaching a positive decision, although some countries might also be happy with this situation.
A site visit that was organised in October upon the initiative of these two countries – a visit in which the Netherlands did not participate – had confirmed, according to a Commission report, that they had fulfilled all the requirements for entering the Schengen area (see EUROPE 13050/9). (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)