Europarlementariërs zetten vraagtekens bij hernieuwde grenscontroles (en) - Montesquieu Instituut

Concerns about allegedly illegal border checks being carried out in the Schengen visa-free area resurfaced on 4 July, when MEPs raised the issue of mobile controls along Dutch borders and German authorities checking Czech buses in a debate with the Commission and the Council. MEPs from most political groups criticised this and called on member states to respect Parliament's right to legislate on arrangements for evaluating the functioning of the Schengen visa-free travel agreement.

Border-free travel

Andreas Mavroyiannis, the Cypriot minister for European affairs, said: "I want to assure you that this decision [to change the legal basis for decisions on Schengen] was taken for legal reasons. The Council was not motivated by a wish to exclude the Parliament from the process. On the contrary: we want the parliament to be fully involved."

Cecilia Malmström, the commissioner for home affairs, said the possibility to travel without border controls was "one of the most valuable rights". She added the Commission would not hesitate to initiate infringement procedures if necessary. Ms Malmström said she was still missing data on the checks on Czech buses at the German border. Concerning mobile surveillance in the Netherlands, she said the controls did not represent a violation of the Schengen borders code, although a court judgement on the case was still due.

German Christian-Democrat Manfred Weber called on the Council to withdraw its decision on the legal basis: "The Council has managed to jeopardise one of the greatest Europe's achievements: a border-free internal space."

Need for a bolder Commission

French Social Democrat Sylvie Guillaume commented: "We need to be able to count on the Commission being courageous and not hesitating to use its powers, in particular when fundamental rights such as free movement are being undermined. Only European solidarity and a community approach will allow us to respond to the challenges of certain borders being vulnerable."

Romanian Liberal-Democrat Renate Weber criticised member states' attempts to curtail free movement. She also urged the Commission to be more proactive in defending free movement: "If the European Commission continues with only half measures, never daring to start infringement procedure, I am afraid we will wake up one morning realising that free movement no longer exists."

The role of member states

Dutch Green MEP Judith Sargentini said: "We see that member states constantly push the limits of what's possible within the Schengen rules. Member states fail to accept them and are using all kinds of different methods to try and circumvent them." She said that instead of upholding the fundamental principle of free movement, the Commission was actually supporting illegal controls, such as for example those in the Netherlands.

British Conservative Timothy Kirkhope emphasised that national security still remained the sole responsibility of each member state. However, to him it seemed that this Parliament wanted member states to increasingly have less control over their borders.

Cornelia Ernst, a German member of the Confederal Group of the European United Left - Nordic Green Left, said: "Politically motivated breaches of Schengen rules are unacceptable. Not just buses are checked but people are checked, particularly if they are dark skinned... This is a breach of law!"

Mara Bizzotto, an Italian member of the Europe of freedom and democracy Group, said the day the Council took the decision to allow member states to resume border checks, a braver Europe was born.