40 years of Schengen
When this April the EU celebrated the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Schengen Agreement on free movement, there were plenty of speeches and official statements hailing the Schengen system, mostly referring to the fact that today, the agreement guarantees free movement to more than 450 million people. Schengen celebrates 40 years – European Commission
It was striking that, from the European top politicians, no one raised the question, which implies an analytical approach, whether a treaty signed in 1985 by five Member States, such as Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands and which has been extended a total of 9 times since that date, is still the best solution for a modern-day Europe where the Schengen zone offers borderless travel from 29 countries, four of which are not in the EU…?
’The Schengen area has blossomed into the world’s largest area of freedom and security’, the European Commission proudly and optimisticly said. But is the concept and practice of Schengen really compatible with security?
Nowadays, when the issue of European defence has been put in the focus of talks due to international challenges such as wars, frozen conflicts and influx of migrants, it would be a serious mistake not to pay attention to the issue of sustainability of the Schengen zone.
Despite the Commission’s standard rose-coloured views and statements, the issue of security seems to be the weakest link in its vision of Schengen, which is: ’Freedom. Opportunity. Security. Unity.’ Celebrating 40 years of Schengen
The reason for this claim is that, in the era of ’weaponisation of migration’, Schengen seems to be an outdated agreement from the good old days, which, paradoxically, contributes to the steadily increasing illegal migration and the growing efficiency of migrant smuggling, not to mention the challenges to the public healthcare system that come with mass migration to Europe, including both poor access to medical treatments and the risks of pandemics.
The fact that the Commission is fully aware of the situation should be stressed to avoid allegations that no concrete figures are available in this area. Eurostat’s Report On Migration And Asylum In Europe In 2024 is based on facts provided by the Commission. Migration and asylum in Europe – 2024 edition – Interactive publications – Eurostat
’In 2022, 5.1 million immigrants came to the EU from non-EU countries. This is more than double compared with 2.4 million in 2021.’, the comprehensive report says. ’In 2023, whilst most people in the EU lived in their country of citizenship, 9% (41 million) of the EU population were citizens of another country than their country of residence. 3% (14 million) were citizens of another EU country and 6% (27 million) of a non-EU country. Additionally, the EU population included 51.000 stateless people and 86.000 who were of unknown citizenship’, the report continues. According to the study, in 2023, around 1.3 million non-EU citizens were found to be illegally present in the EU. This is an increase of 13% compared with 2022. Among the EU countries, the largest number of illegally present people was found in Germany (264.000).
The approach of the Commission to the temporary border checks, introduced by some Member States including the abovementioned Germany, as well as Austria and Italy, is quite selfish, as it calls these measure a derogation from the EU’s free-travel principles, regardless the risks and dangers the respective Member States wanted to avoid with border checks, in an attempt to meet their national interests.
’Schengen is melting before our eyes,’ Spanish MEP Juan Fernando López Aguilar said when speaking about forty years of Schengen. This is an opinion that the EU’s decision-makers should study closely instead of dreaming of a safe Europe. Schengen faces midlife crisis – POLITICO
’Schengen will continue to evolve, adapt to new realities and respond to the shifting geopolitical landscape’, the EU’s political leadership claims. According to a newly announced idea, Schengen should adapt to the evolving security landscape with a common intelligence picture, joint operational actions and stronger cooperation among law enforcement authorities, including in internal border regions. Fourth State of Schengen report on 40 years of profound benefits for all EU citizens
Pragmatically, this means that due to an increased burden, Member States will have to make even more effort to ensure that Schengen remains sustainable in its today’s form – which is, frankly, far from an idealistic picture -, without a possibility to revise the agreement which would allow Member States to rationalise the measures related to free movement by redefining the rules.
The EU’s top management, bizarrely enough, seems to ignore the threats posed by the principle of free movement, in an attempt to make no distinction between the rights of people who are already citizens of a Member State and those of newcomers. All that nations can do is to take ’exceptional measures’ to tackle migration and migration-related crime, but they cannot hope for an EU-wide solution.
With this approach, Brussels endangers not only the overall security of the whole continent, but given the widespreading sexual violance, also the everyday safety of the Europeans. If we look at European crime statistics, particularly those referring to crimes committed by people with a migrant background, the rapid deterioration of the situation is quite striking.
Just think of the ISIL-related terror attacks in France in 2015, when the perpetrators were able to travel across Europe without their identity and activities being spotted by the local authorities. According to the then investigations, several of the perpetrators had exploited Europe’s immigration crisis to enter the continent undetected. Once they arrived, there were no restrictions on their free movement across the continent.
This is also Schengen, in fact, this is the darkest face of Schengen, one might argue in response to the Commission’s commendation of Schengen.
Schengen undoubtably was a brilliant idea four decades ago and has, indeed, worked well for a considerable period of time, but given the immigration trends and the criminal statistics in Europe, it is time to change its rules in some respects, adapting to new security challenges. Instead of praising the system, this is what should actually be done as the Schengen area enters its 40th years of functioning.
