On Friday May 24, the European Union adopted a reform of the Schengen Code, intended in particular to clarify the framework provided for the reintroduction of controls at the internal borders of the free movement area, and to harmonize restrictions in the event of an emergency. sanitary.
The reform, on which negotiators reached agreement in February, also aims to control migratory movements within the Schengen area and to respond to situations of exploitation of migrants by third countries.
It allows a Member State to “transfer third-country nationals apprehended in the border area and staying illegally on its territory to the Member State from which they arrived directly”. “The arrest must take place within a framework of bilateral cooperation”specifies in a press release the Council of the EU representing the Twenty-Seven.
Limit the number of crossing points
In order to combat attempts by third countries to orchestrate the arrival of migrants in the bloc, as Belarus and Russia have been accused of doing for destabilization purposes, the new rules will notably allow member states to limit the number of border crossing points.
They also make it possible to take binding measures at European level to restrict the access of third-country nationals to the bloc in the event of a large-scale health emergency. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Brussels was only able to issue non-binding recommendations to member states in an attempt to harmonize the restrictions imposed on travelers entering the EU.
The reform of the Schengen code was proposed in December 2021 by the European Commission to learn lessons from the Covid-19 crisis, which had given rise to a mess of restrictions. Under the new rules, the EU Council will also be able to impose tests and quarantine measures.
Identity checks in the event of a serious threat to security
Within the Schengen area, which brings together 27 countries – including 23 EU member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland – more than 400 million people can in principle travel without being subject to controls. Since March, two other countries, Bulgaria and Romania, have partially joined this group.
But since 2015, citing migratory pressure or the terrorist threat, a number of countries have reintroduced identity checks at their borders. There are currently eight to do so (Slovenia, Italy, Germany, Austria, France, Norway, Denmark, Sweden).
These controls are authorized by the Schengen Code exceptionally, in the event of a serious threat to public order or the internal security of a State, but on a temporary basis. The Court of Justice of the EU recalled in April 2022 that they should not exceed six months.
The reform provides that in the event of a serious threat to its security a State can authorize controls at its borders for a maximum period of two years, with a possible extension of one year. These States will have to assess the necessity and proportionality of these controls and determine whether the objectives pursued cannot be achieved by alternative measures.
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