Back to Schengen: Council adopts Commission proposal on next steps towards lifting of temporary internal border controls

The Council has today adopted the Commission’s proposal to prolong proportionate controls at certain internal Schengen borders in Germany, Austria, Sweden, Denmark and Norway, for up to six months. These countries had already introduced measures to address the threat to public policy and internal security resulting from the secondary movements of irregular migrants from Greece. Last week, the Commission proposed a recommendation to extend these measures, in line with the Schengen Borders Code, as, and despite significant progress made by Greece, not all of the serious deficiencies identified could be adequately and comprehensively addressed within the three months’ limit. These measures, foreseen under the Schengen Borders Code, act as a safeguard for the overall functioning of the area without internal border controls. The objective is to lift all internal border controls and return to a normally functioning Schengen area by the end of 2016, in line with the “Back to Schengen” Roadmap. You can find a full press release here.