The European Parliament adopted by 503 votes to 34, with 73 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the draft Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the Union, of the Agreement between the European Union and the Swiss Confederation on supplementary rules in relation to the Instrument for Financial Support for Border Management and Visa Policy, as part of the Integrated Border Management Fund, for the period 2021 to 2027.
Parliament gave its consent to the conclusion of the Agreement.
The Instrument for Financial Support for Border Management and Visa Policy (BMVI Regulation), as part of the Integrated Border Management Fund, constitutes a specific instrument in the context of the Schengen acquis designed to ensure strong and effective European integrated border management at external borders, while safeguarding the free movement of persons, in full compliance with the Member States' and associated countries' commitments on fundamental rights, and to support a uniform implementation and modernisation of the common visa policy, thereby contributing to guaranteeing a high level of security in Member States and associated countries.
The Agreement:
- offers the opportunity for implementation of actions in shared management, direct and indirect management modes, and this Agreement should make it possible that the implementation in any of these methods can be realised in Switzerland in accordance with the principles and rules of the EU on financial management and control;
- ensures that all rules applicable for the management of national programmes should apply in Switzerland in the same way as for Member States;
- introduces specific mechanisms for swift adjustments to the agreement with Switzerland, in the event of changes to key Union legislation relevant to the implementation, such as the Financial Regulation and the Common Provisions Regulation;
- ensures, as well, that the mid-term review of the BMVI takes into account the delayed participation of the Schengen associated countries;
- extends the horizontal obligations concerning budgetary and financial controls to Switzerland;
- contains a provision on European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS);
- states that to facilitate the calculation and use of the annual contributions due by Switzerland to the BMVI, its contributions for the period 2021-2027 should be paid in five annual instalments from 2023 to 2027. From 2023 to 2025 the annual contributions are set in fixed amounts while the contribution due for the years 2026 and 2027 should be determined in 2026 on the basis of the nominal gross domestic product of all States participating in the BMVI taking into account the payments effectively made.