Proposals to change the Schengen rules

At the Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting on 22 September ministers were presented with two new legislative proposals which aim to change the rules governing the Schengen evaluation mechanism and the rules for the temporary re-introduction of border controls at Schengen internal borders in exceptional circumstances.

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Under the current rules evaluation of how the member states apply the Schengen acquis is carried out through an inter-governmental mechanism (“peer review”). The proposals would introduce on-site visits (with or without warning) by teams of experts led by the Commission.

The suggested plans also provide that if a member state fails to adequately protect part of the EU's external border, the Commission would have the right to propose to temporarily close a specific border crossing point and possibly to reintroduce checks at internal borders for a certain period of time.

The state would continue to receive support (including technical and financial) from the Commission, member states, FRONTEX and other EU agencies.

According to the draft, the member states would still be able to take unilateral decisions to re-introduce border controls in an emergency (such as a terrorist attack, major criminal incident, etc.). Such controls would be carried out for 5 days, and a decision at EU level would be required for any extension.

In contrast, any decision to re-introduce internal border controls for planned events (such as sporting events or major political meetings) would be taken at European level (on the basis of a Commission proposal backed by a qualified majority of member states).

Several delegations have already expressed criticism of the new proposals.

Another Schengen-related item on the ministers' agenda was the vote on the decision on full application of the provisions of the Schengen acquis to Bulgaria and Romania. However, the vote was postponed because the decision did not receive unanimous support from the member states. The Polish Presidency of the EU Council intends to continue its efforts to secure an agreement on this question.

More information:
Press release (pdf)
Press conference webcast