The Council adopted conclusions regarding guidelines
for the strengthening of political governance in the Schengen
cooperation.
These conclusions follow up a discussion at the JHA
Council in December 2011 in which support for strengthening the
political guidance on developments in the Schengen area was
expressed.
The conclusions may be summarised as
follows:
- the evaluation reports have shown serious
shortcomings, including special measures to be implemented, without
prejudice to the applicable procedures for EU agencies and the
competencies of each Member State;
- the fulfilment of agreed action plans aimed at
tackling shortcomings and their implementation should also be
discussed. Such political and strategic discussions should take
place once during each Presidency and, where appropriate, be based
on the reports from the Commission;
- the Council welcomes the Commission's intention to
present regular reports to the European Parliament and to the
Council on the functioning of the Schengen cooperation and the
application of the Schengen acquis at least once every year. The
first report should together with specific suggestions from
Member States or relevant EU agencies form the basis for
a political and strategic discussion in the Mixed Committee at
Ministerial level in June 2012;
- the Commission is also invited, where relevant, to
address in its reports how Schengen related shortcomings could be
remedied, and, where appropriate, to give an indication of possible
solutions at the practical and operational level or submit new
initiatives, including legislative proposals to address these
shortcomings.
The Council welcomes the intention of the Commission
to present the first report in May 2012. The reports should be
brief, concise and provide an overview of the main trends and
recent developments regarding Schengen cooperation, including
analysis of causes. In addition, identified weaknesses
and/or threats that could affect the functioning of the Schengen
area in the short term should be presented in order for the Council
to consider preventive actions.
The overview should highlight matters which the
Commission considers most relevant for the political and strategic
discussion, such as:
- implementation of the relevant Schengen acquis and of
key policy guidelines set out by the European Council or the
Council as well as action plans adopted by the Council such as the
Schengen related aspects of the 29 measures for reinforcing the
protection of the external borders and combating illegal
immigration, and Schengen cooperation in the fight against serious
and organised crime;
- possible conclusions to be drawn from the functioning
and the development of relevant ongoing and future IT projects and
tools;
- selected findings from evaluation reports and key
recommendations adopted in the context of the Schengen evaluation
mechanism on selected issues such as controls at the external
borders, visa processing at consular posts, data protection
and the required functioning of the institutions involved in the
application of the Schengen acquis, in particular when the reports
point at serious shortcomings;
- application of the Schengen acquis at internal
borders, especially in cases of temporary introduction of controls
at internal borders;
- challenges linked to current and possible foreseen
migration flows and external borders particular prone to pressure
from illegal migration flows as well as proposals for possible ways
for their prevention and deterrence;
- challenges in the Schengen relevant cooperation with
key countries of origin and transit;
- any planned and existing visa facilitation and
liberalisation and their consequences.
The Council invites
the European Parliament also to make full use of the Commission
reports as it deems appropriate, taking into consideration the
sensitivity of the information contained in the reports.