The European Commission reiterated, on Wednesday 16 November in a new communication, the full preparation of Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia to join the Schengen free movement area.
This communication, explained the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, should “help” the Member States to take their decision on the entry of these three countries into Schengen, while the Czech Presidency of the EU Council will submit a draft to them on 8 December at the EU ‘Home Affairs’ Council.
“I expect Member States to take this important and historic positive decision”, commented the Commissioner, as this decision is “in all our interests”.
Since 2011, the Commission has been recommending that Bulgaria and Romania join the Schengen area, but this integration has been held up in recent years by the Member States because of corruption and the lack of independence of the judiciary in these two countries, which led to them being placed under surveillance under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) as soon as they had joined the EU.
The often mixed reports issued each year by the Commission on these two countries have often been put forward by Member States opposed to this enlargement of the Schengen area, notably the Netherlands, pointing to a risk of contagion of organised crime.
But on Wednesday, the Commissioner brushed aside these arguments, reiterating that no political link can be made between the issues dealt with by the CVM and the technical aspects of preparing for Schengen entry. This link has always been considered artificial by the Commission. Furthermore, both countries have “made progress” in the latest CVM reports, Ms Johansson added.
“There is no doubt that the Union is ready for such a historic decision”, the Commission writes in its communication, listing the various reforms that have consolidated the area of free movement, such as the new Schengen evaluation mechanism or the new ‘Schengen Council’.
Under this new evaluation mechanism, the three countries, if they were to join Schengen next year, would be rapidly evaluated again, with the decision providing for them to be inspected again “no later than one year after the date of full application of the Schengen acquis in these Member States”.
“Occupying a strategic geographical position, Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia play a key role in securing our common external border”, the Commission writes.
“All the necessary tools, structures and procedures are in place to effectively manage the crossing of external borders, as well as possible security threats at those borders, such as serious crime with a cross-border dimension. These countries have also demonstrated a high level of commitment to respond effectively to the migratory pressure and related challenges”.
With regard to Croatia, the Commission also assures in its Communication that everything has been done by the country to reduce the risk of violence at the external borders to zero.
Croatia has made “considerable efforts to ensure that external border controls are in line with fundamental rights obligations and is committed to ‘zero tolerance’ of violence of any kind”, the Communication says.
Some countries still reluctant
Several countries have recently reiterated their concerns about this Schengen enlargement, in particular for Romania and Bulgaria. The Swedish and Dutch parliaments have issued a negative opinion, although the situation is not yet set in stone. A new discussion is expected to take place next week in Sweden.
The Netherlands, meanwhile, took part in a fact-finding mission to Romania this week, the commissioner said, although the country had not joined a similar mission in October.
The Netherlands advocates for a merit-based approach, says a source, and not a package approach as requested by the Commission. According to The Hague, the October mission did not allow for the verification of the application of the entire Schengen acquis, which should be remedied by this new field visit.
The Dutch government also expects the Commission to publish a new CVM report for Romania in a few weeks. This report, combined with the new fact-finding mission on the ground, could thus provide new elements to the Dutch parliament, which will discuss this Schengen enlargement again ahead of the EU Council meeting on 8 December.
The Hague’s position vis-à-vis Bulgaria may be more complicated, however, as the Commission no longer foresees a CVM report for this country. Other countries have also, according to one source, requested a new assessment of Bulgaria under the CVM.
The unanimity of the EU Council is required on this issue.
Link to the communication: https://aeur.eu/f/432 (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)