The European Commission (EC) has proposed reforming the Schengen area, taking into account the coronavirus pandemic and the migration crisis at the border of the European Union (EU) and Belarus. This became known on Tuesday, December 14.
“The proposed changes are aimed at strengthening coordination within the EU, will allow states to get better tools to confront the complexities of managing the common external borders of the EU, as well as internal borders in the Schengen area,” says the document published on the EC website.
Thus, in the context of the migration crisis, the EC proposed to reduce the number of operating checkpoints, strengthen measures to protect the external border of the EU and consider refugee applications for asylum directly on the border territory.
Also, members of the commission proposed to minimize restrictions on movement within the Schengen area. The fact is that since 2015, some EU countries have introduced temporary border controls within the Schengen area due to the migration crisis, terrorist threats and the ensuing coronavirus pandemic. The EC proposed to streamline this procedure and introduce restrictions only by a general decision of the EU Council, and if it comes to a common threat.
“According to our proposals today, we will ensure that border restrictions are only a last resort, introduced after a general assessment of the situation and only for the required period,” said European Commissioner for Internal Affairs Ilva Johansson.
On December 9, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France will begin reforming the Schengen area during its EU presidency, as Europe needs to better defend its external borders. The French President called the creation of a mechanism for emergency assistance to border countries in crisis situations as his second priority.
In June, Ilva Johansson announced that all EU countries are required to enter Schengen when they meet the criteria. According to her, Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia will soon become full Schengen members.
The Schengen rules imply the elimination of border controls on the internal borders between the states that have entered this zone, as well as the strengthening of border controls with third states bordering the zone.