Schengen survival at heart of latest EP plenary

The European Parliament (EP) meets this week in Strasbourg against a tense background of growing threats to the Schengen system of passport free movement.

Some European Union (EU) countries have maintained border controls in response to migrant flows during the past year giving rise to concerns over the very future of the Schengen system.

The issue will be discussed in what promises to be a heated debate on Wednesday in the Strasbourg Chamber. MEPs, the European Council and the European Commission will discuss in plenary the best way to restore the Schengen area to "full functionality without passport control".

Free movement of people, an emblematic project of the EU, has been undermined since the arrival last year of nearly one million migrants and asylum seekers, the majority being Syrians fleeing the armed conflict there that has lasted for five years.

In the absence of coordinated EU policy, some member states have adopted unilateral measures by reimposing border controls, or even temporarily closing their borders.

The European Commission, at the request of many of these member states, decided Wednesday to propose that the European Council continues to support "adequate controls" along the borders of Germany, Austria, Denmark, and Norway, which is not an EU country but is a member of the Schengen area, for a period of six months. These controls may be renewed no more than three times, and for a maximum of two years.

Another issue also likely to cause heated debate this week in Strasbourg is the fight against terrorism and cooperation between national law enforcement agencies through Europol, the European police agency.

Strengthening the mandate of Europol will be subject to a final vote on Wednesday on the basis of a new governance project, concluded between EP negotiators and the European Council last November.

The EP, in previous discussions, insisted that new powers for Europol be accompanied by guarantees over data protection and respect for privacy.

Reform of the European asylum system will also be on the plenary agenda. On Wednesday afternoon, MEPs will debate the May 4 proposal of the European Commission for a revision of the Dublin rules, which determine which EU country is responsible for an individual asylum application.

In a resolution passed in April, MEPs called for replacing the criteria of "country of first arrival" with a common system in order to ensure an equitable distribution of asylum seekers among member states.

Another burning issue is the renewed threat of a Greek crisis and the possibility of "Grexit", that country's exit from the euro zone.

MEPs will hold a debate on Tuesday with Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice President of the European Commission responsible for the euro, and Pierre Moscovici, Commissioner for Economic Affairs, on the state of negotiations over Greece's "economic adjustment program", the third of its kind, on which Greece and its creditors must agree in the coming days, while the required austerity measures meet opposition from many ordinary Greek citizens.

On Thursday, MEPs will also vote on granting market economy status to China. This EP resolution will serve as a basis for the next meeting of the European Council on Trade on May 13. Endit