Schengen: Strengthening the functioning of the Schengen area

Today, the Commission is reporting on the implementation of the Schengen rules over the past 5 years and suggests operational measures for improving the Schengen evaluation mechanism, ahead of the Schengen Forum taking place with Members of the European Parliament and Home Affairs Ministers on 30 November. The current Schengen Evaluation and Monitoring Mechanism, operational since 2015, aims to ensure an effective, consistent and transparent application of the Schengen rules. Based on the findings of over 200 evaluations carried out between 2015 and 2019, Schengen States are overall adequately implementing the Schengen rules, with serious deficiencies identified only in a limited number of countries, and overall promptly addressed. Recurrent deficiencies and divergent practices do however remain and could ultimately impact the good functioning of the Schengen area. To feed into the discussion on the future of Schengen, the Commission suggests potential operational measures to improve the evaluation mechanism and thereby improve trust. The report is a contribution to discussions at next week’s first ever Schengen Forum, which aims to stimulate cooperation and political dialogue and will inform the Strategy for a stronger Schengen area to be presented in mid-2021. The Strategy will among others revisit the Schengen Evaluation and Monitoring Mechanism. More details are available in the Staff Working Document.