Leaked Document Reveals Eu Plans To Suspend Schengen For 2 Years

Comments yesteryear Steve Peers

The next is Council document 14300/15, dated 1 Dec 2015. It's entitled 'Integrity of the Schengen area', in addition to addressed to Coreper (the trunk consisting of Member States' representatives to the EU) in addition to the Council - presumably the Member States' Justice in addition to Home Affairs ministers coming together Th 3 in addition to Fri iv December. (For a to a greater extent than official version of the same document, consider here).

The commencement iii parts are relatively unexceptional (for only about discussion, consider here), but share iv calls for the make of a physical care for to officially permit the reimposition of internal edge controls inward the Schengen expanse for upwards to 2 years. Legally, this has to hold upwards triggered yesteryear 'serious deficiencies' inward the edge command of a particular Member State.

This has been reported equally a innovation to suspend Schengen equally regards Greece. But the wording of the document suggests a much broader intention - applying to the whole of Schengen. This intention is clear from the reference to continuing inward forcefulness the edge controls that many Member States take away maintain imposed this autumn, which tin transportation away solely hold upwards imposed for a maximum menses of 6 months. The purpose of using the 'serious deficiencies' clause, instead of the normal clause on suspending Schengen, is clearly to permit a much longer suspension period. It may hold upwards that non every internal edge would hold upwards dependent area to checks, but the intention seems to hold upwards to number a blank cheque to this effect.

More on the legal details (and whether this is fifty-fifty legal at all) inward the parallel spider web log post.

Document follows:

INTRODUCTION

The migratory in addition to refugee crisis has seat the application of the Schengen acquis in addition to of the asylum acquis nether severe pull per unit of measurement area during the concluding years, amongst an unprecedented influx of migrants over the concluding months. In this context, several Member States take away maintain temporarily reintroduced edge command at their internal borders, amongst reference to a serious threat to populace policy or internal safety equally provided for yesteryear the Schengen Borders Code. Temporary controls at internal borders take away maintain equally good been carried out yesteryear a Member State for reasons related to terrorism, next the attacks inward Paris on thirteen Nov 2015. In addition, only about Member States take away maintain taken specific measures to reinforce the command at their external borders.

In its Conclusions of nine Nov 2015 on measures to grip the refugee in addition to migration crisis, the Council has identified a number of measures to implement fully the orientations already agreed yesteryear the European Council [1]. These measures address a broad attain of issues, including inward particular reception capacities, hotspots, relocation, return, readmission, resettlement,  lack of cooperation of migrants, contingency planning, the functioning of the Schengen area, external in addition to internal borders, smuggling inward human beings, visa policy, a mutual information strategy in addition to the job of the Integrated Political Crisis Response (IPCR).

In the Conclusions adopted on xx Nov 2015 on Counter-Terrorism after the Paris terrorist attacks yesteryear the Council in addition to Member States coming together within the Council it was agreed to implement reinforced measures for the purpose of fighting terrorism, including strengthening controls at external borders[2].

Under dot nine of its Conclusions of nine Nov 2015, the Council decided "to bear at the Dec Justice in addition to Home Affairs Council, on the footing of the eighth bi-annual reporting yesteryear the Commission, a thorough scrap on the functioning of the Schengen expanse (1 May 2015 - 31 Oct 2015) in addition to on the lessons learned from temporary reintroductions of controls at internal borders".

In Coreper on 26 Nov 2015 the Commission indicated, however, that the said eighth bi-annual written report would non hold upwards railroad train for the coming together of the JHA Council inward Dec 2015, but would hold upwards integrated inward the hereafter edge package. The Presidency concluded that Ministers would hold upwards invited to take away maintain a scrap on the functioning of the Schengen expanse on the footing of a Presidency paper.

With a stance to preparing this debate, the Presidency issued a questionnaire on lessons learned from temporary introductions of controls at internal borders [3]. The Presidency has prepared the nowadays newspaper inward the lite of replies from Member States, having inward hear equally good major issues that take away maintain been raised during recent months regarding the functioning of the Schengen area, amongst a focus on edge controls.

ISSUES FOR DISCUSSION

The Presidency invites the Council to take away maintain a scrap on the functioning of the Schengen expanse in addition to to address inward particular the next issues related to internal in addition to external edge controls.

1. Consultations betwixt Member States – Based on the information available to the Presidency, it appears that, inward situations where only about Member States take away maintain applied latterly Article 25 of the Schengen Borders Code to reinstate temporarily controls at internal borders, at that topographic point has non been sufficient prior consultation amongst other Member States.  The same has been noticed for technical reinforcement of borders betwixt edge crossing points, for changes inward national policies leading to filter migrants at edge crossing points in addition to for organizing the transit of migrants from 1 edge to next.  This has severely hindered the possibility for neighbouring countries to railroad train themselves for changes inward migratory routes in addition to for all Schengen countries to grip migratory flows inward a coherent manner.

In addition, procedures approved yesteryear Coreper inward March 2015 for improved information sharing on temporary reintroduction of edge controls at internal borders take away maintain non been fully respected inward all cases.

The Presidency proposes that:

-           fifty-fifty inward emergency situations falling nether Article 25 of the Schengen Borders Code in addition to requiring immediate action, a Member State deciding to temporarily reintroduce internal edge controls should brand all efforts to inform neighbouring Member States sufficiently inward advance to permit neighbouring Member States to adapt to the novel province of affairs and, where possible, to cooperate to trim down the negative affect of the reintroduction of internal edge controls;

-           Member States reconfirm their commitment to fully apply the procedures for improved information sharing on temporary reintroduction of edge controls at internal borders agreed inward Coreper inward March 2015. [4]

2. Securing external borders – Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 number of irregular migrants entering the EU, or exiting an European Union dry soil to re-enter after inward the EU, move yesteryear through the so-called "green dry soil borders" (the parts of the dry soil borders betwixt edge crossing points). According to Frontex, to a greater extent than than 1,2 1000000 illegal edge crossings take away maintain been detected at the European Union external borders for Jan - Oct 2015, an increase of 431% compared amongst the corresponding menses inward 2014. In addition, a number of illegal crossings take away maintain non been registered. The exact figure is unknown.

Also inward the context of the scrap against terrorism, the Council concluded on xx Nov 2015 that command at the external borders which are nearly exposed should hold upwards strengthened "in particular yesteryear deploying, when the province of affairs thence requires, rapid edge intervention teams (RABITs) in addition to constabulary officers inward gild to ensure systematic screening in addition to safety checks". 

In stance of the critical province of affairs that the European Union is currently confronted with, the Presidency proposes that:

-           considerably to a greater extent than efforts should hold upwards made to foreclose illegal edge crossings (entry in addition to exit) through the external "green dry soil borders" in addition to to ensure that external borders are crossed solely at the edge crossing points referred to inward Article 4, dependent area to the exceptions inward Article 4(2), of the Schengen Borders Code;

-           RABITs are deployed equally necessary for that purpose. This is at present  especially relevant for external dry soil borders inward relation to the Western Balkan countries route;

-           Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 Frontex functioning at the northern borders of Hellenic Republic hold upwards deployed without delay to address severe difficulties encountered amongst neighbouring countries.

3. Increasing checks regarding illegal migration – Irregular migrants who take away maintain entered the Schengen expanse in addition to take away maintain non been registered at their arrival should non hold upwards able to rest inward that expanse undetected for long periods of time.

The Presidency proposes that:

-           the possibilities for checking persons within the Schengen area, including yesteryear the job of relevant databases, are fully exploited to ensure that irregular migrants are detected in addition to registered in addition to their cases processed.

4. Addressing serious deficiencies inward external edge controls – Several Member States take away maintain latterly reintroduced temporarily internal edge command pursuant to Articles 23-25 of the Schengen Borders Code. Under these provisions, a Member State may non implement such controls for to a greater extent than than a total menses of 6 months. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 prolongation of this province of affairs would need the adoption yesteryear the Council, upon a proposal from the Commission, of a recommendation inward accordance amongst Article 26 of the Schengen Borders Code. Such recommendation may hold upwards adopted inward particular circumstances to address a province of affairs where a Schengen evaluation has identified persistent serious deficiencies relating to external edge command in addition to the measures referred to inward Article 19a of the Schengen Borders Code are non effective. Where inward such cases the overall functioning of the expanse without internal edge command is seat at risk, in addition to insofar equally the particular circumstances flora a serious threat to populace policy or internal safety within the expanse without internal edge command or within parts thereof, the menses for the reintroduction of internal edge command may hold upwards extended upwards to a total maximum of 2 years.

On this basis, the Presidency:

-           proposes that the Council invites the Commission to consider presenting a proposal equally appropriate pursuant to Article 26 of the Schengen Borders Code for a Council recommendation that 1 or to a greater extent than Member States make upwards one's hear to reintroduce edge command at all or at specific parts of their internal borders;

-           considers that, at the same time, all possible measures should hold upwards taken aimed at strengthening the normal functioning of the Schengen area, inward particular yesteryear reinforcing the command of external borders.

Photo credit: Sputniknews.com
Barnard & Peers: chapter 26

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