Whatever happened to the Schengen crisis?

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Whatever happened to the Schengen crisis? by Hugo Brady

EU ministers will put years of political wrangling behind them this autumn when they sign off a new set of rules for the Schengen area. The 26-country travel zone was tipped into political turmoil in 2011 when, during the Arab Spring, France temporarily re-imposed border controls with Italy over a trickle of Tunisian migrants crossing their shared frontier. (An exasperated Nicolas Sarkozy would later declare that “Schengen ne marche pas” during a televised election debate with François Hollande.) Though trivial, the Franco-Italian tiff was symptomatic of evident tensions between Schengen states throughout 2011 and 2012. Anti-immigrant feeling seemed on the rise with far-right groups wielding political influence in the Netherlands and Sweden, and a half-serious attempt to re-introduce customs controls in Denmark. Greece – long the weak link in Schengen’s shared external frontier – had to have its Turkish border manned for months by Frontex, the EU’s border agency, and accepted €100 million in European funds to create a proper system for granting political asylum. Meanwhile, Schengen members looked on anxiously as Bulgaria and Romania were set to join by December 2012, despite persistent concerns over the rule of law in both countries. How did all this drama play out? EU leaders had already instructed their interior ministers to re-visit Schengen’s rulebook in summer 2011. (Every EU country is a member or hopes to be, save Britain and Ireland; Iceland, Norway and Switzerland are also in.) Some

in the Union’s Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Council wanted more leeway to re-introduce internal borders following events like the Arab Spring. Current rules allow for this only in true national emergencies or to provide security for major sporting tournaments. But the European Commission demurred, floating instead a heroically unlikely proposal that would allow national controls only if it first approved them. A year-long stalemate ensued, as the European Parliament blocked other JHA business in an attempt to force ministers to yield to the Commission and hence expand its own powers in the process. Ironically, it was Ireland, a non-Schengen country, which resolved the affair early in 2013. As president of the JHA Council, Justice Minister Alan Shatter brokered a compromise to give the Commission the lead in evaluating standards at Schengen’s external frontiers from 2014 onwards, and to recommend if particular countries should face suspension. Effectively, the Commission will monitor Schengen border controls in a similar


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Whatever happened to the Schengen crisis? by Centre for European Reform - Issuu