Annexes to COM(2014)292 - Fifth bi-annual report on the functioning of the Schengen area 1 November 2013 - 30 April 2014 - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2014)292 - Fifth bi-annual report on the functioning of the Schengen area 1 November 2013 - 30 April 2014. |
|---|---|
| document | COM(2014)292  |
| date | May 26, 2014 |
On 17 February 2014 the Commission adopted a Report on the operation of the exceptional extension of the local border traffic regime area in Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation and certain Polish administrative districts[12]. The report looks at the practical implementation of this arrangement, including the number of crossings under the LBT regime, organisational arrangements and challenges. The report concludes that the regime appears to be functioning well, at the same time pointing out that given the short time since its entry into force, any assessment is limited. The report was positively received by the Council which is looking forward to the next report due in two years time, by when more data should be available.
3.5. Weaknesses identified via the Schengen evaluation mechanism
Under the current Schengen evaluation mechanism[13], Member States' application of the Schengen acquis is regularly evaluated by experts from the Member States, the Council General Secretariat and the Commission.
In the period 1 November 2013-30 April 2014, Schengen evaluations were carried out on police co-operation in Switzerland and SIS/Sirene in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary and Poland. As far as SIS/Sirene is concerned, the evaluated Member States have, in general, achieved satisfactory progress in the implementation of SIS II. The reports are still being finalised, but will include positive as well as negative comments and recommendations, including on the more comprehensive use of the new alert categories and functionalities. Special focus is made on the more efficient use of SIS II at the external borders.
Preparations are ongoing as regards the new Schengen evaluation mechanism. In line with the Regulation 1053/2013 establishing an evaluation and monitoring mechanism to verify the application of the Schengen acquis[14], the Schengen Committee has been established and convened for the first time on 17 January 2014, where the practical implementation of the new Schengen evaluation mechanism was discussed. In accordance with the aforementioned Regulation, the multiannual evaluation programme is planned to be established by 27 May 2014. The first evaluations under the new mechanism can be expected as of January 2015.
3.6. Lifting of control at internal borders with Bulgaria and Romania
The Council has not yet been able to decide on the lifting of control at the internal borders to these countries. The Commission continues to fully support Bulgaria's and Romania's accession to the Schengen area.
4. Flanking measures 4.1. Use of the Schengen Information System
In many Member States the launch of SIS II was linked to the deployment of new end-user systems or significant upgrades of the existing ones which has led to the overall improvement of national applications for law enforcement officers. Many Member States have implemented solutions allowing several SIS II queries in parallel according to different criteria (e.g. in case of a stolen tractor, vehicle and industrial equipment alerts are queried at the same time). With regard to the number of hits (positive result to a query in the SIS II), following a bedding-in period in the Member States, the current pattern shows an overall positive trend with the level of hits exceeding the rate achieved by SIS 1+ by 3.5 %.
Although the hacker attack against the Danish N.SIS in 2011 took place under the predecessor system of SIS II, the Commission has carried out an end-to-end assessment of the efficiency of national security measures together with the experts of eu-LISA, the Member States and European Data Protection Supervisor. The recommendations will be available in the second quarter of 2014.
The Commission has continued to closely monitor the implementation of SIS II by Member States, with special emphases on the new alert categories and functionalities as many Member States still have to fully implement these features into their end-user systems. The Commission focuses, in particular, on the timely deletion by Member States of alerts in SIS II, as alerts which are not anymore relevant may cause inconvenience and damage to individuals concerned. The major reasons for delay are the lack of procedures and control by the responsible national authorities and the lack of clear legal provisions on when an alert has to be deleted. In addition, the Commission identified that certain Member States fail to systematically attach the European Arrest Warrant to the alerts for arrest, as they should do. This may jeopardize the validity of an alert. Therefore, the Commission raised the matter with the Member States concerned in order to remedy the situation. Where appropriate, the Commission will also open investigations against Member States which are not complying with the legal requirements.
SIS II has proven to be an important tool for detecting the routes of terrorists and travelling criminal gangs even in cases of changed identity or forged personal identification documents. The Commission and the Member States are working closely together to fully exploit the possibilities offered by a special alert category in SIS II which allows the discreet and specific check of individuals and certain types of objects. Following the effective intervention of the Commission in proposing solutions for a more intensive use of this alert category the statistics show a more than 30 % increase in the number of such alerts.
4.2. Use of the Visa Information System
Since the end of the last reporting period (31 October 2013), the VIS became operational on 14 November 2013 in the ninth region (Central Asia), tenth region (South-East Asia) and eleventh region (occupied Palestinian territory)[15].
The sequencing of the VIS roll-out in the third set of regions was determined in September 2013[16]. The VIS is scheduled to start operations in the twelfth, thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth regions (Central America, North America, Caribbean and Australasia) on 15 May 2014 and in the sixteenth region (Western Balkans and Turkey) on 25 September 2014.
The VIS is functioning well and by 1 October 2013 the system had processed 4.8 million Schengen visa applications, whereby nearly four million visas have been issued. Despite continuous efforts by Member States, the main issue of concern remains the mid to long-term effect of a non-optimal quality of data (both biometric and alphanumeric) introduced by the consular authorities of Member States into the VIS. This can happen due to incomplete (e.g., different visa applications for the same person or family members travelling together are not linked) or unstructured data (it is not filled in with the appropriate format) as well as due to insufficient fingerprint quality. This can result in unreliable information for decision makers as well as raise difficulties in carrying out prior consultations with other Member States when issuing a visa.
The use of fingerprints to perform verifications of visa holders at the Schengen border crossing points will become obligatory in October 2014. Although some Member States have already been performing a number of such verifications, it is crucial that all the Member States comply with the deadline. The data available at eu-LISA show that for November 2013-January 2014, there were in total 152 262 verifications by fingerprints carried out in the VIS at the posts located at the external border[17].
4.3. Visa policy and readmission agreements
Amendment of Regulation 539/2001 introducing a new suspension mechanism and a revised reciprocity mechanism
On 11 December 2013, the European Parliament and the Council adopted an amendment of Regulation 539/2001 providing, among other elements, for a new suspension mechanism and a revised reciprocity mechanism.[18] The amendment entered into force on 9 January 2014.
The new suspension mechanism
In accordance with the provisions of the new suspension mechanism, it could be used as a last resort measure in situations where the visa-free regime with a third country had led to substantial increases in the number of irregular migrants or of rejected asylum applicants from that third country resulting in specific pressures on the asylum system of a Member State. There is no automatic application of the mechanism: in case of a request from any Member State to trigger the suspension mechanism, based on clear and strict criteria, the Commission will have to examine all relevant factors, including any potential impact on the EU's relations with the third country concerned. If, after examination of all the facts and relevant elements, the Commission finds that the visa waiver should be suspended for nationals of a particular third country, it will propose to a committee where all Member States are represented a draft decision suspending the visa waiver, on which the committee will have to give its opinion. The Commission is also committed to holding a political debate with the European Parliament before proposing any suspension measure.
Revised reciprocity mechanism
In the course of the legislative negotiations, the European Parliament and several Member States called for a reinforced reciprocity mechanism – applied in case a visa-exempted third country introduces or maintains a visa requirement for the citizens of one or more Member States - in order to make it more efficient and ensure more solidarity among Member States.
The main changes introduced by the revised reciprocity mechanism are that, for a period of two years from the notification of a non-reciprocity situation, the Commission may at any time adopt an implementing act to suspend the visa-free regime for certain categories of nationals of the third country concerned, for a period of up to six months, with a possible prolongation by further periods of up to six months; if the Commission decides not to adopt such an act, it has to present a report explaining the reasons why it does not propose a measure. Furthermore, if after two years from the notification of the non-reciprocity the third country is still requiring visas from citizens of one or more Member States, the Commission shall adopt a delegated act to re-impose the visa obligation on all citizens of the third country, for a period of 12 months; either the European Parliament or the Council could oppose the entry into force of this delegated act.
The Commission, while welcoming the adoption of the amendment aiming at enhancing the credibility of the common visa policy and ensuring more solidarity amongst Member States, considers that the powers conferred on the Commission with regard to the revised reciprocity mechanism are not in compliance with Articles 290 and 291 of the TFEU and has lodged an application for annulment concerning certain provisions of Regulation 1289/2013, in accordance with the Commission declarations made during the adoption of the amendment by the European Parliament[19] and by the Council.
Post-visa liberalisation monitoring mechanism for Western Balkan countries
According to Eurostat data, in the 2013, the total number of asylum applications from the five Western Balkan visa-free states[20] in the Schengen area and the Schengen candidate countries was around 12.5% higher than in 2012[21]. Hence, the situation continued to affect the functioning of the visa-free travel regime between the Western Balkans and the EU. Asylum inflows in 2013 have shown a similar trend to 2012.
Nationals of the five visa-free Western Balkan states represented almost 12% of all asylum-seekers in Schengen states and Schengen candidate countries in 2013, compared to around 13.4% in 2012. Around 93% of these applications in 2013 were lodged in the six most-affected Schengen countries, which were Germany, France, Sweden, Belgium, Switzerland and Luxembourg. The overall recognition rate[22] of the applications for international protection in first instance from the citizens of the five Western Balkan countries in the Schengen area and the Schengen candidate countries was less than 2% in 2013.
Serbians represented by far the largest group of the applicants, while the share of Albanian nationals increased significantly. Among the most-affected recipient countries, the top destination continues to be Germany (with its share increasing further), followed by France and Sweden.
On 28 November 2013, the Commission presented the Fourth Report on the Post-visa liberalisation monitoring for Western Balkan countries[23] where it gives assessment of the measures implemented, reviews the functioning and makes recommendations with regard to the visa-free travel regime.
Readmission and visa facilitation agreements and visa liberalisation
In order to facilitate the readmission of persons residing without authorisation in a Member State, a readmission agreement with Turkey was signed on 16 December 2013. On the same occasion, a visa liberalisation dialogue was initiated. The EP gave its consent to the readmission agreement on 26 February 2014 and the Council is now set to adopt the decision on the conclusion of the agreement.
Readmission and visa facilitation agreements with Cape Verde are awaiting notification of the completion of ratification procedures by Cape Verde to allow for their entry into force (the ratification procedures on the EU side are finalised). The consent of the EP for a readmission and visa faciliation agreement with Armenia was received on 9 October 2013, followed by entry into force of the two agreements on 1 January 2014. The readmission agreement with Azerbaijan was signed on 28 February 2014 (the visa facilitation agreement had already been signed in November 2013). The EP gave its consent on 12 March 2014 and the agreements are expected to enter into force before the summer. With Belarus, negotations on readmission and visa facilitation were officially launched on 29 January 2014 after an initial invitation to open negotiations in 2011. A first round of technical negotiations is expected to be held in mid-June 2014. Readmission negotiations with Morocco will be relaunched on 11-12 June in parallel with the negotiation of a visa facilitation agreement.
In December 2013 the co-legislators agreed on a visa waiver for citizens of the Republic of Moldova holding a biometric passport. From 28 April 2014, they can travel visa-free to the Schengen area. In February 2014 the co-legislators reached an agreement on amending the Regulation 539/2001 to lift the visa obligation for citizens of 16 small Caribbean and Pacific island nations, as well as the United Arab Emirates, Peru and Colombia. This amendment will enter into force before mid-June, but effective visa-free travel for nationals of these countries will only become a reality once visa waiver agreements between the EU and each of the countries enter into force. Moreover, for Colombia and Peru, the Commission will have to present assessment of their fulfilment of the relevant criteria before requesting the authorisation to negotiate such agreements.
[1] COM (2011) 561 final
[2] Unless otherwise indicated, the data in Section 2 is taken from Frontex Risk Analysis Network information exchange system, and covers the Schengen area as well as Schengen candidate countries. The data covers only the third country nationals detected at external borders (except temporary external borders) when entering or attempting to enter illegally between the border crossing points. Figures for Croatia are included from the day of accession to the EU.
[3] Note that the figures for this route here and below exclude Apulia and Calabria.
[4] Higher detection figures can partially be attributed to the operation Mare Nostrum by the Italian Navy launched in October 2013.
[5] Communication from the Commission on the work of the Task Force Mediterranean, 4 December, 2013, COM(2013) 869 final.
[6] In 2013, the level of irregular border crossings at the Greek borders was only slightly over the half of the 2012 level, whereas at this particular route it went down by 12%.
[7] Regulation (EU) No 604/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 establishing the criteria and mechanisms for determining the Member State responsible for examining an application for international protection lodged in one of the Member States by a third-country national or a stateless person
[8] As indicated above, the data covers the Schengen area as well as Schengen candidate countries.
[9] Those being Syrians, Eritreans and Somalis, Afghanis and Pakistanis, Algerians and Moroccans, Western Balkan nationals and Ukrainians.
[10] Regulation (EC) No 562/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a Community Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders (Schengen Borders Code), as amended by Regulation (EU) No 610/2013
[11] Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement of 14 June 1985 as well as Council Directive 2001/51/EC.
[12] COM(2014) 74 final, 17.2.2014, Report on the implementation and functioning of Regulation (EU) No 1342/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 1931/2006 as regards the inclusion of the Kaliningrad oblast and certain Polish administrative districts in the eligible border area and on the bilateral agreement concluded thereof between Poland and the Russian Federation.
[13] SCH/Com-ex (98) 26 def.
[14] OJ L 295, 6.11.2013, p. 27.
[15] Commission Implementing Decision of 8 November 2013 determining the date from which the Visa Information System (VIS) is to start operations in a ninth, a tenth and an eleventh region (2013/642/EU)
[16] Commission Implementing Decision of 30 September 2013 determining the third and last set of regions for the start of operations of the Visa Information System (VIS) (2013/493/EU)
[17] These verifications were primarily carried out by 6 Member States, the rest having had no such verifications or numbers lower than 100 cases a month. For comparison, there were 6 159 564 verifications in the VIS using the alphanumeric data (the visa sticker number) during the same period for all the Schengen area.
[18] Regulation (EU) No 1289/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement, OJ L 347, 20.12.2013
[19] See http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+CRE+20130910+ITEM-011+DOC+XML+V0//EN&language=EN
[20] Since end of 2009, the citizens of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia, holding a biometric passport, have enjoyed visa-free travel to the EU Member States, in accordance with Regulation 539/2001. Under the same conditions the citizens of Albania as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina have enjoyed visa-free travel to the EU Member States since 15 December 2010.
[21] Please note the 2012 Eurostat data did not cover Croatia as it was not yet an EU member.
[22] The recognition rate is calculated as the share of first instance decisions granting Geneva convention or subsidiary protection status in the total number of first instance decisions taken (the total number of first instance decisions includes decisions granting Geneva convention or subsidiary protection status as well as decisions granting other status (e.g., humanitarian) and rejections of applications).
[23] COM(2013) 836 final.