Debate: Schengen area: digitalisation of the visa procedure - Schengen area: amending the Visa Sticker Regulation
Date: TUESDAY, 17 OCTOBER 2023
Speaker: Margaritis Schinas
Language: EN

I had the chance many times to say that together with euro, Erasmus and the single market, Schengen is the jewel on our EU crown. And the cornerstone of Schengen is our visa policy. So the need to continuously adapt our system is vital, is paramount, and thank you for the many suggestions to that effect. And also thank you for approving and agreeing on these digitalisation and simplification reports that we are discussing today. Allow me a few comments on some of the issues raised in the debate. Starting by, of course, Bulgaria and Romania and their accession to the Schengen zone. Let me once again, on behalf of the Commission, reiterate the fact that the accession of both countries to the Schengen area would actually mean more and better controls, not less, because it will effectively move resources at the external border where we need them, instead of deploying resources in unnecessary internal border procedures that are cumbersome and do not actually add any added value. Secondly, both countries’ accession will greatly simplify and optimise our supply chains that have proved vital during the pandemic and in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The integration of supply chains into an integrated Schengen zone adds to the European Union. And finally, as you know, we have now completely rendered our databases interoperable. That is emerging now as a reality throughout the Schengen zone. It allows us to control and distinguish the bad guys from the rest, and it will be a great asset for the Schengen zone to be able to offer this possibility of interoperable bases to Bulgaria and Romania. And all this is not just words; this is a commitment on behalf of the Commission that I am confident that will translate soon into a decision from the Council. Second point in this constant drive for improvement, the Commission will tomorrow present a new proposal that will improve the existing rules on the visa suspension mechanism. This is yet another tool in our toolbox to manage migration, but we need to sharpen a bit the edge of these rules with new definitions and new procedures, which will be communicated to you tomorrow. Thirdly, on humanitarian visas, raised by colleagues in this debate, we do sympathise with the European Parliament’s affinity for this idea. Nevertheless, it would not be possible to address this under the visa code legal base. We do have other tools which we can deploy to reach similar objectives through the hopefully soon to be a great pact for migration and asylum – our work on legal pathways and on future initiatives, on talent pools and organised labour mobility. Finally, in the debate in the last plenary session, I had the chance to inform this House that when the Commission assesses the application of EU law, we are colour blind. We do not check who is in government. We simply make sure that the rules that we all collectively and democratically agree on are properly implemented. And this certainly covers the issue of the alleged fraud on visas in Poland. We said this before the election, we are saying it after the election, on this issue of visa fraud, the Commission will do our duty. We will not let it pass.