The Europen Commission prolonged internal border controls for further three months. No restoration of free movement before 2017
by Emanuele Bonini
There will be no «Back to Schengen» for Europe by the end of the year, as originally planned. The European Commission gave green light to the extension of the internal boder controls reintroduced in some Member States as a consequence of the migration crisis. Temporary checks were re-established in Sweden until the 11th of November, and in Germany, Austria and Denmark until the 12th of November. These countries are now allowed to keep their borders closed in derogation to the EU free movements rules for further three months. This means internal borders will be kept closed until mid-February 2017, against the European Commission forecasts. As decided in its migration roadmap, December 2016 was supposed to be «the target date for bringing to an end the exceptional safeguard measures taken, if the overall situations allows». Cleary it is not the case.
The European Union therefore experienced a new failure in the migration policy. The idea of come back to the normal situation by the end of the year was swept away by the European Commission college meeting. Vice president Frans Timmermans recognized the insuccess. «The Schengen area without internal borders is a historical achievement which we must preserve. We are working hard to return to a normal functioning Schengen area as soon as possible, and we have made significant progress. But we are not there yet». The European Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs, and Citizenship, Dimitris Avramopoulos, expressed the change of political line by no setting new deadline for the restoration of normal conditions. «We have one clear priority and determination: to safeguard Schengen and to restore a normally functioning Schengen area as soon as the conditions allow for it».
According to the single rules on free movement (the so called Schengen Code), «in exceptional circumstances where the overall functioning of the area without internal border control is put at risk as a result of persistent serious deficiencies relating to external border control, border control at internal borders may be reintroduced for a period of up to six months». That period may be prolonged, «no more than three times, for a further period of up to six months if the exceptional circumstances persist». This is the case for all the four Member States involved. So controls will reimain in Germany (land border with Austria), Austria (land border with Slovenia and with Hungary), Denmark (Danish ports with ferry connections to Germany and the Danish-German land border) and Sweden (Swedish harbours in the Police Region South and West and the Öresund bridge). A defeat for Europe, and a failure of the polical agenda of the European Commission.
Read also:
- Figures revealed the failure of the EU migration agenda
There will be no «Back to Schengen» for Europe by the end of the year, as originally planned. The European Commission gave green light to the extension of the internal boder controls reintroduced in some Member States as a consequence of the migration crisis. Temporary checks were re-established in Sweden until the 11th of November, and in Germany, Austria and Denmark until the 12th of November. These countries are now allowed to keep their borders closed in derogation to the EU free movements rules for further three months. This means internal borders will be kept closed until mid-February 2017, against the European Commission forecasts. As decided in its migration roadmap, December 2016 was supposed to be «the target date for bringing to an end the exceptional safeguard measures taken, if the overall situations allows». Cleary it is not the case.
The European Union therefore experienced a new failure in the migration policy. The idea of come back to the normal situation by the end of the year was swept away by the European Commission college meeting. Vice president Frans Timmermans recognized the insuccess. «The Schengen area without internal borders is a historical achievement which we must preserve. We are working hard to return to a normal functioning Schengen area as soon as possible, and we have made significant progress. But we are not there yet». The European Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs, and Citizenship, Dimitris Avramopoulos, expressed the change of political line by no setting new deadline for the restoration of normal conditions. «We have one clear priority and determination: to safeguard Schengen and to restore a normally functioning Schengen area as soon as the conditions allow for it».
According to the single rules on free movement (the so called Schengen Code), «in exceptional circumstances where the overall functioning of the area without internal border control is put at risk as a result of persistent serious deficiencies relating to external border control, border control at internal borders may be reintroduced for a period of up to six months». That period may be prolonged, «no more than three times, for a further period of up to six months if the exceptional circumstances persist». This is the case for all the four Member States involved. So controls will reimain in Germany (land border with Austria), Austria (land border with Slovenia and with Hungary), Denmark (Danish ports with ferry connections to Germany and the Danish-German land border) and Sweden (Swedish harbours in the Police Region South and West and the Öresund bridge). A defeat for Europe, and a failure of the polical agenda of the European Commission.
Read also:
- Figures revealed the failure of the EU migration agenda
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