The Schengen Area and EU Enlargement

Delimitation of the Schengen area

During the 80’s, a debate regarding the “free movement of persons” came out more clearly, setting the scene for different opinions – beginning with the maintenance of the internal control at borders to facilitate the distinctions between EU citizens and non-EU citizens and ending with the “free movement of persons”. In the context of member states not reaching a compromise, 5 states decided, on June 14, 1985, to establish a territory without internal borders: France, Germany and BENELUX.

Schengen area was extended little by little, including then almost every member state, except Great Britain and Ireland. Italy signed the Agreement on November 27, 1990; Spain and Portugal joined the Schengen area on June 25, 1991, Greece on November 6, 1992, Austria on April 28, 1995, and finally, Denmark, Finland and Sweden on December 19, 1996.

The most important moments in establishing the internal market without obstacles in the way of free movement of persons, constituted the adoption of the two Schengen Agreements: Schengen Agreement from June 14, 1985 and the Conventions on Schengen Implementation (June19, 1990). The coming into force of these agreements meant, in fact, the abolishment of the internal borders between the signatory states and the establishing of a single external border where the immigration control takes place according to a common set of rules regarding visas, the right to asylum, the control of external borders, etc.

A Protocol attached to the Treaty of Amsterdam (coming into force on the May 1st, 1999) included the developments brought to the Schengen Agreement in the legal and institutional framework of the EU, in the system of Justice and Home Affairs. As for the legal and practical problems regarding the implementation of the Schengen Protocol provides that the candidate states must fully accept the Schengen acquis.

At the same time, the candidate states must: 1. fully accept the provisions regarding Justice and Home Affairs and the working practices regarding their implementation; 2.accept the conventions and the other instruments in the field; 3. accept at the accession data, the actions and common positions, as well as the resolutions, decisions and existing declarations; 4. introduce administrative agreements or other types of agreements to implement the acquis in the field; 5. line the institutions, management systems and administrative understandings at the level of EU standards.

The implementation of the provisions of the Schengen acquis, immediately after accession, is less probable to constitute a practical possibility of technical and operational reasons. While the actual process of enlargement is the first of its kind after the integration of Schengen Agreement, there is no precedent for defining Schengen provisions list that could be applied after accession.

In the common position of the member states, besides the Luxembourg group, the candidate states have been invited to deliver an action plan for implementing the necessary preconditions for participating to Schengen (Schengen Action Plan).

Schengen does not refer only to issues related to the border control, and covers all political areas in the field of justice and home affairs, design to eliminate the internal border controls (compensatory measures). This is why Schengen action plan should enclose all political areas included in Schengen Convention: 1. External border control; 2. Visas policies; 3. Cooperation between police forces; 4. Juridical cooperation in issues regarding the crime combat and extradition; 5. Drug trafficking; 6. Schengen information system; 7. Personal data protection

Taking into account the distinction in the Schengen acquis between the provisions that will be applied from the accession data and the ones that will be applied when the internal borders are eliminated, every field should cover the objectives, the necessary national action, the adoption calendar and the status of action implementation.

The prospective of Schengen action plan should be strategic and not only addressing legislative measures and the capacity of operational action, but also the implementation, due to the specific nature of the cooperation in the field of Justice and Home Affairs.

The objective of establishing a common area of freedom and security is realized through the free movement of persons, of any nationality, between the internal borders of member states. To reconcile the liberty and security, this problem is accompanied by “compensatory” measures, which imply both the improvement of the coordination between the police forces, customs and the judiciary element, and the necessary measures to combat the important problems such as terrorism and organized crime. At the same time, the Amsterdam Treaty provisions underline the necessity to establish common standards for procedures regarding refugees and the persons who request asylum and the sharing of financial responsibilities in the case of persons who receive asylum.