EU executive wants surprise Schengen border inspection visits

The European Commission has proposed tightening its evaluation regime for member states’ compliance with the Schengen border code on Wednesday, part of a strategy to shore up the European free movement zone.

The main change foresees that inspectors would be able to make surprise visits to check whether the 26 Schengen countries are sticking to the rules.

At present, states get 24 hours notice for so-called unannounced visits.

The Schengen border code sets out how to police and not police frontiers.

In principle, some 420 million people according to commission figures living in the Schengen area should be able to move around freely with minimal internal border checks.

By contrast, Schengen’s external borders are strictly controlled to prevent irregular migration and monitor security threats.

A second proposal set out by European Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson is that suspected serious wrongdoing at internal or external borders should be investigated straight away, rather than having to wait for the green light from member states.

“We will make sure that severe deficit deficiencies should be addressed immediately,’’ Johansson told journalists ahead of the announcement.

The underlying aim is to make Schengen `stronger facing out’ and freer facing in,’’ Johansson said.

Twenty-two of the 27 EU member states are part of the Schengen zone, along with four non-EU countries.

Recent years have seen internal checks repeatedly reinstated, first during the massive influx of migrants and refugees from 2015, and then during the Coronavirus pandemic.