European Parliament
Motion for a resolution to wind up the debate on the statement by the Commission
pursuant to Rule 110(2) of the Rules of Procedure
on the changes to Schengen
4 luglio 2011
Renate Weber, Sarah Ludford, Louis Michel, Leonidas Donskis, Jan Mulder, Cecilia Wikström, Sonia Alfano, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, Giommaria Uggias, Nadja Hirsch, Sophia in 't Veld, Nathalie Griesbeck, Gianni Vattimo, Ramon Tremosa i Balcells, Stanimir Ilchev, Antonyia Parvanova
on behalf of the ALDE Group
B7‑0456/2011
European Parliament resolution on the changes to Schengen
The European Parliament,
– having regard to the conclusions of the European Council of 24 June 2011,
– having regard to the European Commission Communication on Migration of 4 May 2011, (COM(2011)0248 final),
– having regard to the Schengen Agreement of 14 June 1985,
– having regard to the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement of 19 June 1990,
– having regard to Directive 2004/38/EC on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States,
– having regard to Regulation (EC) No 562/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2006 establishing a Community Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders (Schengen Borders Code),
– having regard to the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the establishment of an evaluation mechanism to verify application of the Schengen acquis (COM(2010)0624 – C7-0370/2010 – 2010/0312(COD)),
– having regard to the draft report on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the establishment of an evaluation mechanism to verify application of the Schengen acquis (COM(2010)0624),
– having regard to Article 2 of the TEU and to Articles 3, 18, 20, 21, 67, 77, 80 of the TFEU,
– having regard to Article 45 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union,
– having regard to Rule 110(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas the European Union is founded on the unequivocal respect of fundamental rights and freedoms, in particular the free movement of persons as enshrined in the TFEU,
B. whereas the creation of the Schengen area and the integration of the Schengen acquis into the EU framework is one of the greatest achievements of the European integration process, marked by the removal of controls on persons at internal borders and by unprecedented freedom of movement inside the EU,
C. whereas freedom of movement has become one of the pillars of EU citizenship and one of the foundations of the European Union as an Area of freedom, security and justice, enshrining the right to move and reside freely in all Member States enjoying the same rights, protections and guarantees, including the ban of all discriminations based on nationality,
D. whereas the Schengen rules governing the conditions for the movement of persons across internal borders have been defined in the Schengen Borders Code, whose Articles 23 to 26 set out measures and procedures for the temporary reintroduction of border controls at internal borders which however, being of a unilateral nature, do not allow the collective EU interest to prevail,
E. whereas the evaluation mechanism based on the Schengen Evaluation Working Group (SCH-EVAL), a purely intergovernmental body, has shown its limits,
F. whereas a new evaluation mechanism has been set out in the proposal for a Regulation establishing an evaluation mechanism to verify application of the Schengen acquis, currently being examined in ordinary legislative procedure by the EP; whereas this mechanism already defines procedures, principles and tools for supporting and assessing Member States’ compliance with the Schengen acquis, also in presence of unforeseen events,
G. whereas Article 77 of the TFEU states that the European Parliament and the Council, acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, shall adopt measures concerning, amongst others, the checks to which persons crossing external borders are subject in the absence of any controls of persons, whatever their nationality, when crossing internal borders,
1. Stresses that free movement of people within the Schengen area has been one of the biggest achievements of European integration; that Schengen has a positive impact on the life of hundreds of thousands of citizens, not only by making border crossing convenient, but also by boosting the economy because of the money saved on border checks; has serious doubts that EU citizens would consider it appropriate to reintroduce border controls and passport checks as a way to improve their daily lives;
2. Believes that, while the conditions for the temporary and exceptional reintroduction of controls at internal borders are already clearly set out in Regulation No 562/2006 (Schengen Border Code) with Articles 23, 24 and 25 providing for the possibility of reintroducing border control at the internal borders only where there is a serious threat to public policy or internal security, the procedures for making such decisions need to be EU ones rather than Member States’ ones;
3. Equally believes that support to Member States in order to ensure compliance with the Schengen acquis in case of exceptional pressure at the external borders can already be called upon and enforced through the new Schengen evaluation system;
4. Is therefore of the opinion that any new additional exemptions from the current rules, such as new grounds for ‘exceptionally’ reintroducing borders controls would definitely not reinforce the Schengen system;
5. Reminds that any proposal that would not aim at reinforcing EU citizens’ freedom of movement would contradict the word and the spirit of the Treaties and the acquis communautaire, harming one of the pillars of EU citizenship;
6. Is convinced that the recent problems with Schengen are rooted in the reluctance to achieve European policy in other fields, most crucially a common European asylum and migration system (including tackling irregular immigration and fighting organised crime); reiterates that it is of utmost importance to make progress in this respect, also given the fact that the deadline for the establishment for a common European asylum system is set for 2012; considers it crucial to focus on improving existing instruments (such as Frontex) and on better European cooperation, not only between Member States on the basis of Article 80 of the TFEU, but also between EU agencies, such as Europol, Eurojust and the European Asylum Support Office;
7. Warns that any measure in the Schengen field should fully respect Parliament’s prerogatives and therefore should be based on Article 77 of the TFEU; and that it should first of all aim at enforcing Commission supervision on the correct functioning of the Schengen system;
8. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Council of Europe, the governments and parliaments of Member States.
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