The European Commission presents today a new Strategy aiming to make the world’s largest free movement area – the Schengen area – stronger and more resilient. The Schengen area is home to more than 420 million people in 26 countries. The abolition of internal border controls between Schengen States is an integral part of the European way of life: nearly 1.7 million people reside in one Schengen State and work in another.
Many Europeans have built their lives around the freedoms offered by the Schengen area, with 3.5 million people moving between Schengen states every day. The free flow of people, goods and services is at the heart of the European Union and essential for recovery in Europe from the coronavirus crisis. With the strategy presented today, the Commission takes stock of the challenges the Schengen area has faced in recent years and defines a way forward which preserves the advantages of Schengen.Common action is needed at Union level to enable Member States to meet today’s challenges.
The proper functioning of the Schengen area is based on three pillars: effective management of the EU’s external borders, strengthening of internal measures aimed at compensating for the lack of internal border controls, in particular with regard to police cooperation , migration security and management, and ensuring solid preparation and governance, including the completion of Schengen. In order to strengthen mutual trust in the implementation of the Schengen rules,proposal to revise the Schengen evaluation and control mechanism.
