The European Commission plans to reorganize the border-free Schengen Area, considering late declarations by French president Emmanuel Macron.
“We are examining the fate of Schengen in a continuous cycle and we are attempting to adjust to the manner in which it adapts to the new reality,” European Commission press representative Eric Mamer told journalists in November 2020.
Macron recently requested an upgrade of the Schengen zone that traverses 26 nations, following the terror incidents in Paris and Nice.
The French president is requesting more strict boundary controls of the European Union, particularly with Spain, and such endeavors are now already in the pipeline.
France has insisted on the interior controls for as long as five years, generally for security reasons in the midst of an on-going highly sensitive situation. Others like Austria, Denmark, Germany, Sweden, and non-EU state Norway additionally refer to migratory movements as an explanation.
The EU’s border guard organization, Frontex, has started hiring new specialists in January 2021. This first batch of specialists will empower a much bigger organization of more than 10,000 new Frontex employees.
“We are drawing a connection between the improvement and future of Schengen, and the long-awaited migration and asylum pact settlement,” noted Mamer.
Related comments were made in September by EC President Ursula von der Leyen, when she reported the commission is about to suggest a new approach towards a pending Schengen update.
First Schengen Forum in November 2020, attended by EU interior ministers along with Ursula von der Leyen, EC VP Margaritis Schinas, and the Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, was announced as a fundamental event “towards a stronger and more resilient Schengen area”.
How will those Schengen Area changes reflect on travelers?
Most of the updates are generally on the overseeing and arranging side rather than changes that residents or voyagers will ever notice. The greatest innovation will be in late 2022, when the ETIAS becomes mandatory, and visitors from nations who are now enjoying visa-free travel, would have to apply for an ETIAS as a requisition to entering Europe.
The positive feedback from the First Schengen Forum has resulted in follow-up discussions and another Schengen Forum scheduled for Spring 2021, where any challenges that were noticed in the interim months will be put on the table.
More ETIAS details were communicated to a broader audience
In late 2022, the European Union is planning to launch ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorization System) in order to support its travel policies. The ETIAS will serve as a visa waiver for citizens from nations whose residents at the present moment enjoy a visa-free to travel to Europe.
The ETIAS visa waiver would work pretty much as other electronic visa applications do, similar electronic travel authorizations are the US ESTA and the Canada ETA. They are all falling under the category of special travel permits, and not an actual visa.
Any eligible candidate from a specified nation would apply a couple of days before their planned trip by submitting an online ETIAS application form, and would wait for its positive confirmation.
While this new process may feel like a burden for tourists who were not obliged to apply for extra travel permit until now, EU leaders confirmed that ETIAS would be fast and simple to obtain. The final result aims to create a safer environment for both travelers and citizens within EU borders.
ETIAS might affect the Schengen Area as well
One of the valued achievements of the European Union is the setup and upkeep of the Schengen Area, which comprises 26 European member countries.
The Schengen Area got its name from the city, where the first settlement was signed, Schengen in Luxembourg, when representatives from five of the current ten European Communities put pen to paper back in 1985.
The motivation behind the initial Schengen Area formation was to cancel identification control for individuals who were crossing starting with one part state then onto the next. This objective was implied to help facilitate the challenges for workers, who needed to cross a European boundary on daily basis, but also to support the travel industry thru the whole span of the EU.
The expansion from five nations to 26 in the following 35 years has grown the travel industry ventures throughout Europe by allowing non European nationals, who were arranging their trips to visit various spots and countries without caring about visa applications or considerable delays at borderline control.
There were five main topics undergoing current discussions:
- Changes that were intended to target and improve the Schengen Area’s present frameworks for observing and ID
- Foundation of a regular Schengen Forum to constantly check the situation and any available options for enhancement
- Long-awaited refresh of the Schengen Borders Code, which will further guarantee that the opportunity of free movement while supporting advanced safety concepts
- Stronger and more effective communication frameworks among police and border authorities. The purpose is to create a common process to deal with recognizing and following potential emergencies
- The last topic was the previously mentioned ETIAS, which is planned above all else to guarantee that the residents and travellers inside the Schengen Area are as free and safe from threats as possible
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