How to protect the Schengen area from the return of border controls? – Euractiv AP

The Schengen Area is threatened by the re-imposition of border controls in many European countries. To counter this trend, advocates of the European free movement area hope for an update to its legal framework and political support from some EU countries.

On June 14, 1985, Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg signed a treaty stating the following: “Internal borders can be crossed anywhere without border checks for people, regardless of their nationality.”This is how the Schengen Area was born.

This has since undergone nine extensions. The latest dates back to 31 March 2024 and confirmed the lifting of air and sea border controls on Bulgaria and Romania. The Schengen Area now includes 29 countries, including 25 EU member states.

However, nearly 40 years after its creation, it is now divided by controls imposed by some of its founding members, such as Germany and France. Vienna also saw its checks declared illegal by the EU’s highest court in 2022, but these actions continue.

For many years, the European Commission, accused of standing idly by while member states work to dissolve the European free movement area, has been working to review the legal framework of the Schengen area.

In order to calm member states' concerns about the migration crisis, Brussels pushed the 27 countries to agree on a new pact on migration and asylum – a compromise reached last April.

The new rules adopted aim to improve the monitoring of refugees, speed up procedures and establish financial solidarity with EU countries experiencing large influxes of exiles.

Brussels also proposed updating Schengen rules to allow border controls to be implemented for up to 36 months instead of the current six months.

The border control IT system, proposed in 2016, will be operational by the end of 2024 and will automatically register travellers from abroad.

Schengen rules are unlikely to be applied more strictly.

Leon Zulig, a researcher at the University of Giessen, explains that the EU's executive has travelled “A long way to go” Member States so that they can do so. “Making migration and mobility control practices compatible with the EU legal framework”.

“It is too early to say how the revised Schengen rules will prevail in practice.”Notice.

Their influence “It will depend on the will of the European institutions, and the Commission in particular, to implement the legal framework.”“The researcher explains. I add that the past years of inaction “Don't give too many reasons to hope”.

Moreover, it does not appear that the committee will be more stringent in enforcing the law.

“Trust goes on horseback and returns on a donkey.”“It is a very difficult situation,” said a UNHCR official who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity.

Leon Zulig, a proponent of a stricter application of the Schengen framework, also acknowledges this. “It is still unrealistic to expect the Commission to initiate infringement proceedings, as it is simply not politically viable.”.

In early August, German Green MEP Eric Marquardt called on the Commission to sue Berlin over its border controls.

Faced with this situation, some observers believe that we should not expect too much from Brussels. I think it is somewhat naive to believe that the committee is with the Court of Justice. [de l’UE]It will be solved These problems, emphasizes Daniel Thieme, an expert in European law at the University of Konstanz.

“Let's not forget that the Schengen Area was not created by the Commission.”But he explains that it is an initiative of the countries themselves.

An international governmental project above all.

Schengen It was created by a small group of like-minded states who decided, on a purely intergovernmental basis, to abolish border controls. “What followed was a decade of negotiations to establish it,” recalls Daniel Thieme. “climate of trust”Before border controls were removed in 1995, he continues.

Today, restoring this trust could depend on the Schengen Council, Created in 2022And about Schengen Coordinator Olivier Onyed, who travels all over Europe to convince capitals of the importance of the free movement area. “This new governance can succeed in revitalizing the spirit of collective action among member states.”Daniel Thiem hopes.

The Commission also benefits from the support of most of the “small” EU countries, which are directly affected by the re-imposition of border controls. “We will ensure that the Schengen Area operates effectively for the next 40 years.”Belgian Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden made the announcement at a press conference in June, while her country held the presidency of the Council of the European Union.

“For a country like ours, which is located in the heart of Europe and has a very open economy, the smooth functioning of the Schengen area is essential.”The spokesman for the Belgian Foreign Ministry confirmed.

Some in Brussels hope that the Schengen Area's 40th anniversary celebrations will remind the area's founding countries of their earlier enthusiasm for a more open Europe.