European Union The EU warns: "Any aggression against Ukraine will have a high cost for Russia"
European Union Macron calls for "reorganization" of European Union policy on migration
The mantra in Brussels says that you can discuss anything but that there are, or should be, three sacred things:
the internal market, the single currency and Schengen
. Each has had its crisis, but for
over five years which is permanently in the target is the area of free movement after the political storm by the arrival of refugees, terrorist attacks, migration,
the
border disputes
and More recently, measures against the pandemic
.
This Tuesday the European Commission presented a proposal to update the current rules and "
strengthen the governance of the Schengen area
", seeking "greater EU coordination and greater flexibility for member states when managing both the common external border like internal borders. " Ursula von der Leyen's team assures that the update "aims to ensure that the reestablishment of internal border controls
remains a measure of last resort
", but given that it finds that capitals have an easy trigger, it hopes to at least be able to regulate it better.
The proposal has an internal and an external dimension
. On the one hand, the Commission, as usual, believes that the answer to the problems is to equip itself with more powers, and that is why it aspires, with the lessons of the Covid, to have the initiative to, for example, close the external borders centrally by sanitary reasons. The best example is what happened recently with the Omicron variant. Von der Leyen made
the suggestion to cut flights from South Africa, but the decision is individual
, Of each country. The capitals met urgently in the mechanism created for this and it was approved that all will ban flights from various African countries. Some in Brussels want the Commission to propose and that the Council can take a faster decision so that there are no differences or discrepancies, such as those that are being seen now when certain countries (Portugal, Ireland and today Italy) decide to impose measures such as a mandatory quarantine for the unvaccinated or a mandatory PCR test even for those who already have two doses.
The second dimension, the interior,
was the one that worried a lot in Madrid
, Rome or Athens. Spain knew that it was going to be against it and that it was not going to like it, because the pressure is now clearly on the side of those who seek to prevent the so-called secondary movements, that is,
the displacements of those who come to the EU from outside and in the middle of their asylum claim process
(or even without it) they want to keep moving to reach other Member States. In recent years it has been traditional for many to arrive in Europe via Spain but continue to France or for those who arrived in Greece to try to end up in Germany or Sweden via the Balkans.
The Mediterranean countries,
which have historically felt abandoned
and who have often looked the other way when thousands of people were displaced irregularly
because they could not handle hundreds of thousands of petitions
, feared that the Commission would propose to give governments carte blanche to impose controls frontiers to nip these secondary movements in the bud. It is going towards something like that, but with less wide sleeve.
Some noise has been generated in Brussels because one of the articles of the proposal, 25,
states in its statement that a Member State could "re-establish, exceptionally, border controls"
if, in addition to some of the causes that were already contemplated, such as terrorism, organized crime or large political and sporting events (a temporary suspension of Schengen is very common in soccer World Cups, political Summits, G7, etc.), there are "unauthorized and large-scale movements of third-country nationals
that put in risk the operation of uncontrolled areas
".
The code, if approved, would allow these controls, but the reality is that this has been happening for years. Many countries resorted to national security risks, or health concerns, to close borders that had been open for decades to curb the caravans of asylum seekers, or to unilaterally ban non-essential travel during 2020 due to the pandemic. This is to give legal support to what was already being done, but Von der Leyen and his team aspire to at least achieve greater transparency than to date,
when it happened in any case but without clarity in the returns
, with friction between neighbors and complaints of constant abuses and violation of the most basic rights.
The regulations also contemplate a safeguard mechanism
in case of threats that affect the majority of the States
. Through it, which complements the existing one for deficiencies at external borders, "internal border controls in most Member States could be authorized by means of a Council decision in the event of a common threat." The pandemic has shown very clearly that the Schengen area
is key to our economies and societies
. Through our proposals today we will ensure that border controls are introduced as a last resort, based on a common assessment and only for as long as necessary, "explained Homeland Commissioner Ylva Johansson.
The Commission intends to define the procedures with this proposal,
but recent years have shown that the application is not rigorous
. The spirit is that measures such as closing borders to free movement should be a last resort, and for a short time, but some countries have left them in place for years. Today, the Member State that decides to re-establish controls simply has to assess the adequacy of the re-establishment and its "likely effect on the free movement of persons", but with the new rules, if all 27 give the go-ahead, the effect should also be assessed. in border regions. Furthermore, the Member State examining the possibility of prolonging controls in response to foreseeable threats "will first have to assess whether the controls could be replaced.
by alternative measures, such as targeted police controls and increased police cooperation
. A risk assessment must be submitted for extensions of more than six months. When the internal controls have been in force for eighteen months, the Commission will have to issue an opinion on their proportionality and necessity. In all cases, temporary border controls should not exceed a total duration of two years, except in very specific circumstances, "says the text, long enough.
It is now up to the European Parliament and the Council to examine and adopt both proposals.
S
and expected intense negotiations because the positions are disparate
.
First the Council has to fix its own, and it will be delicate because the views of the countries that have external borders and that of those who receive the secondary movements are divergent and often even irreconcilable.
But later, in addition, Parliament, more guaranteeing in this debate and concerned about free movement above all else, will be more aggressive in trying to reduce the assumptions and demand that the reasons for these last resort measures be even more limited.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
Know more
European Union
Engine Thinking of buying a car?
These are the greenest vehicles on the market
Commerce Spain breaks historical export record in 2021: 229,963 million euros
The Yazidis who were forced to eat grass in Iraq and Europe
See links of interest
Last News
Translator
Holidays 2021
2022 business calendar
Check Christmas Lottery
How to
Home THE WORLD today
Rome - Spezia
Cadiz - Granada CF
Mirandés - Real Sociedad B
Anadolu Efes Istanbul - Bitci Baskonia
Red Star - Barça