Germany and the European Commission back the creation of a Schengen Council to manage the passport-free zone of the EU. French President Macron makes his speech during the informal meeting of the Ministers Responsible for Home Affairs in Tourcoing on Valley lat/Pool via EPA in a gs just like the eurozone, French President Emmanuel Macron said in comments backed by Germany and the European Commission. National security concerns, waves of migration, and, most recently, the coronavirus pandemic have led to the re-emergence of border controls in the Schengen Area and criticism of how it functions, eroding what had been hailed as a milestone achievement in Europe’s post-World War II integration. Speaking to EU justice and interior ministers meeting in northern France, Macron said what he dubbed the “Schengen Council” would evaluate how the area was working but would moreover her more take joint decisions and facilitate coordination in times of crisis.“This council can become the face of a strong, protective Europe that is happy with controlling its borders and therefore its destiny,” he said on Wednesday. Its inaugural meeting could take place when the EU’s justice and home affairs ministers next gather on March 3, Macron said. Such a proposal would need the support of other member states in the 27-nation bloc to take effect, though French officials say it would not require any change to EU treaties. The EU has been deeply divided for years in its response to immigration and on how to police Schengen’s external borders, and it remains to be seen how much France can achieve during its six-month presidency of the EU Council of Ministers. France has also proposed an emergency response mechanism that could be triggered when the bloc’s external borders are under threat and extensive reform of EU asylum policies.
Germany and the European Commission backed the creation of the Schengen Council. Other countries are yet to comment.“Germany will support the French proposal. It is right and important to work together more closely in the Schengen Area,” German Interior Minister Nancy Faster said.“I very much welcome the proposal on the Schengen Council, we need to strengthen the political governance of Schengen,” European Commissioner for Home Affairs VA Johansson said as ministers met to discuss the proposals. Macron, who is all but certain to seek re-election as French president in April in a campaign dominated by security and identity issues, said he hoped to win over several reluctant EU countries.“We must reform Schengen,” he said. There can be no freedom of movement if we do not control our external borders. The Schengen Area is the world’s largest passport-free zone, allowing unrestricted movement of people between 26 European countries. This agenda for a sovereign Europe will be accelerated with the French Presidency. Europe must rise to the major economic, educational, migration, and military challenges. The French presidency must be a moment of truth for the regulation and accountability of digital platforms, the carbon pricing at European borders on imported products, minimum wages, and our relationship with Africa. The Presidency of the Council of the European Union will also be a time for France. In the coming months, we must discuss together Europe’s strengths and weaknesses, what it is lacking, and agree on what it should do. Hundreds of events, conferences, artistic workshops, debates, films, and collective activities will be organized all over the country so that each of us can bring a piece of Europe home.
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