Thu. Dec 26th, 2024

Schengen and borders scrutiny: EP working group held first meeting

Dec 9, 2024 ,

Brussels, 9 December 2024

On Monday, the Schengen and Borders Scrutiny Working Group held its first meeting and elected MEP Lena Düpont (EPP, Germany) as Chair.

A new Schengen and Borders Scrutiny Working Group, operating under the Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, will scrutinise the state of the Schengen free-travel area, internal border controls within it, operations of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) and the European Commission’s plans to triple its standing corps, Europe’s external border situation, and other aspects of European Integrated Border Management.

The group will hold exchanges of views with relevant other institutions and stakeholders, which may include inter alia the European Commission, Frontex, and Europol.

New working group Chair elected

In the first meeting, members elected MEP Lena Düpont (EPP, Germany) as Chair of the working group.

Newly-elected Chair Düpont said: “I am honoured to chair this working group, which will build on the work of the Schengen and Frontex scrutiny working groups of the previous term. While we welcome the likely inclusion of Bulgaria and Romania into Schengen in the near future, the state of Schengen is also worrying in many ways: organised crime, migrant-smuggling and terror threats have caused many member states to reintroduce border controls within the free-travel area.

It is time to step up EU efforts in fighting organised crime, including with a new Internal Security Strategy, fully implement the Pact on Migration and Asylum, and make sure our security agencies have the resources and competences they need. Our working group will scrutinise this important work every step of the way.”

Members

In addition to its Chair, the working group includes the following members:

Further information

 

Forward to your friends