Schengen evaluation and monitoring

KEY POINTS

Cooperation

Member States, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission must cooperate fully in order to ensure the effective implementation of the regulation and keep the European Parliament fully informed of significant developments. The peer-to-peer nature and the Member States’ active involvement are some of the key features of the Schengen evaluation.

Evaluations and monitoring

Evaluations, some of which may be conducted at short notice, can be:

• first time;
• periodic;
• unannounced:
  • to evaluate how the Schengen acquis is applied at internal borders,
  • following systemic problems with a potentially significant negative impact on the area, including threats to public policy or internal security,
  • where a Member State may be seriously neglecting its obligations or there may be serious violations of fundamental rights; or
• thematic, assessing how legislative changes or new policies are applied.

Monitoring includes:

• reviewing action plans and follow-up reports submitted by Member States;
• revisits; and
• verification visits.

Evaluation and monitoring are undertaken primarily through visits and questionnaires, and exceptionally through other remote methods.

Cooperation with EU bodies and agencies

The Commission cooperates with EU bodies and agencies, in particular with the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol), the European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA) and the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA).

The Commission may ask EU bodies to provide statistical data or risk analyses to be more aware of potential future threats and ensure internal EU security within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2019/1896.

Cooperation with Frontex and Europol

Frontex submits an annual risk analysis covering relevant aspects of integrated border management, to assist with the annual evaluation programme, including unannounced evaluations for the following year, with recommendations on:

• specific sections of external borders;
• specific border crossing points; and
• specific sites to evaluate compliance with Directive 2008/115/EC on returning illegally staying non-EU nationals (see summary).

Europol provides expertise, analysis, reports and other information.

Evaluation programmes

The Commission, after consulting with EU bodies, and based on risk analyses and other information, sets up:

• a 7-year multiannual evaluation programme, during which each Member State undergoes one periodic evaluation and, as appropriate, thematic and unannounced evaluations;
• an annual evaluation programme.

Evaluation teams

The evaluations are carried out by small teams comprising experts from Member States, representatives of the Commission and observers from EU bodies and agencies.

All team members and observers must be appropriately qualified with solid theoretical knowledge and experience in the areas covered by the evaluation and monitoring, along with sound knowledge of evaluation principles, procedures and techniques.

Reports and follow-up

The evaluation report analyses qualitative, quantitative, operational, administrative and organisational aspects. Findings are assessed as one of the following:

• best practice,
• improvement necessary, or
• non-compliant.

As a rule, the Commission transmits the report and its recommendations within four weeks to the Member State, which then has two weeks to comment. It then adopts it by means of an implementing act within four months.

The evaluated Member State must:

• submit, within 2 months of the report’s adoption, an action plan to implement all the recommendations;
• report to the Council and the Commission on progress every six months.

Serious deficiencies

Member States are informed when a serious deficiency is identified and the evaluated Member State must take immediate remedial action. The Council adopts recommendations,, and the evaluated Member States must submit an action plan within one month.

To verify progress, the Commission organises a revisit within 180 days of the evaluation and a verification visit, before the action plan can be closed.

Reporting to the Parliament and the Council

The Commission submits an annual comprehensive report to the Parliament and the Council on the evaluations carried out in the previous year, including conclusions from evaluations, the remedial actions taken by Member States and best practices.

Transitional arrangements

The new regulation repeals Regulation (EU) No 1053/2013 (previous regulation).

• The first evaluation programmes under the new regulation must be set up by 1 December 2022 and start on 1 February 2023.
• The first multiannual evaluation programme must take into account evaluations conducted under the old regulation’s second multiannual programme and drawn up as a continuation of that programme.
• Reports and recommendations for evaluations before 1 February 2023 must be adopted in accordance with the old regulation, with follow-up and monitoring conducted under the new regulation.