Tag: Schengen

Lithuania, which takes over the EU's rotating Presidency on 1 July, is not optimistic regarding the much-protracted accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen borderless area, the country’s envoy to Brussels said yesterday (18 June). 

Two German conservative MEPs on Wednesday (10 April) accused Romania’s Socialist government of hindering Bulgaria and Romania’s entry into the Schengen area, contradicting Berlin’s statements that the two nations were weak on justice and corruption.

Frequent travellers to the EU’s border-free Schengen area will be able to cross frontiers “in seconds” thanks to a special machine-readable card presented today (28 February) by the EU's Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström.

A two-day meeting of EU justice and home affairs ministers beginning today (25 October) in Luxembourg is set to “expedite” a safeguard clause, allowing visas to be re-introduced for Western Balkan citizens who abuse the asylum system of EU countries.

In Switzerland, many problems with illegal migration and asylum seekers from third-world countries are being solved with mobility and migration partnerships. But these partnerships have to have a long-term perspective, the Swiss say.

In what appears to be a further toughening of Germany's position on Ukraine, a leading MEP close to Chancellor Angela Merkel has opposed the Commission’s move towards a visa facilitation agreement.

EU home affairs ministers voted unanimously yesterday (7 June) for the re-introduction of internal border controls in the Schengen area, dwarfing the decision-making role of EU institutions in that policy area. The Commission regretted the decision and MEPs vowed to reject the draft legislation. 

French Interior Minister Claude Guéant pleaded yesterday (26 April) for a Schengen revamp in line with the anti-immigration rhetoric of Nicolas Sarkozy, who faces an uphill battle for re-election  on 6 May. He obtained the support of Germany and Austria, but was rebuked by Belgium and Sweden.

In a joint letter to the Danish EU presidency, French and German Interior ministers have asked to repatriate powers from the EU Commission, which would allow them to re-establish border controls for people travelling from Greece.

Nicolas Sarkozy’s “letter to the French”, unveiled yesterday (5 April), contained no major new ideas on European matters, limiting itself largely to repeating already-announced proposals on  Schengen and ‘reciprocity’ in trade.  EurActiv France reports.

EU leaders need to have a high-level political debate on the surge of 'xenophobia' and anti-European attitudes that threaten integration, Romanian Prime Minister Mihai Răzvan Ungureanu said during his first political visit to Brussels yesterday (15 March).

Germany and Austria called on Greece yesterday (8 March) to tighten immigration controls, saying that other countries in the European Union may be forced to reinstate border checks if Athens did not act.

A "no thrill" EU summit starting today (1 March) will avoid several contentious issues against the background of the French election campaign. Instead, leaders are poised to give speeches about "growth",  congratulate themselves for the re-election of Herman Van Rompuy as Council president and sign the 'fiscal compact' treaty.

The trio of EU Council presidencies "is a joke" - at least in the current form that groups Poland, Denmark and Cyprus, three countries with completely different agendas - says a prominent Brussels-based political analyst.

The incoming Danish EU Presidency will try to get "as far as possible" on the next EU budget for 2014-2020, knowing that a deal is unlikely to be struck until the end of its term, the country's ambassador in Brussels said yesterday (23 November).

Bulgarian authorities announced that an expected visit today (31 October) of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte had been postponed, indicating ongoing friction between the countries over the Netherland's recent veto of expanding the Schengen zone to Bulgaria and Romania. 

Poland is trying to broker a face-saving deal for Romania's and Bulgaria's accession to the European Union's borderless Schengen area. Under the compromise the two countries would first have barriers at airports and maritime ports removed, while maintaining land restrictions until after the French elections, diplomats told EurActiv.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich has made visa-free travel to Europe one of his country's top priorities. However, the EU is wary of a public opinion backlash and is linking the issue to improvements in Ukrainian democracy and the country''s judicial system.

An international survey of 23 countries by Ipsos has found opposition to immigration in numerous countries across the world, with majorities often considering its effects to be negative and its scale excessive. European nations were typical of this trend.

The Commission announced on 29 July that it has proposed that the citizens of the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, which is wedged between Poland and Lithuania, would be able to benefit from visa-free travel into a 30 to 50 km zone inside the two EU countries.

The European Commission was quick to issue a critical preliminary statement just after its experts visited Denmark to assess if the introduction of internal border controls by Copenhagen was not infringing EU rules.

The European Commission's upcoming proposal to revise the Schengen rules may encounter stiff resistance from the European Parliament should it unduly threaten the freedom of movement and its legality may be questioned by the European Court of Human Rights should it be deemed discriminatory, argues Zuzanna Warso.

Denmark reinforced its borders yesterday (4 July) by stationing additional customs officers at frontier crossings in a bid to halt illegal goods that has angered Germany and stirred debate about free travel in Europe.

The revision of the EU's border-free Schengen zone prompted by Nicolas Sarkozy and Silvio Berlusconi's reaction to the wave of immigration from North Africa will probably be a minor one, argues Yves Pascouau. But he says there are legitimate concerns regarding the apparent acceptance that the free movement of people can be limited and even dismantled.