The most recent achievements to improve the Schengen area, but mainly the key measures and actions that are being suggested in the report will actually be the starting point for political discussions and steer at the Schengen Council on 8 June 2023.

• Some of the achievements mentioned in the report include:
  • The expansion of the Schengen area through the integration of Croatia to the acquis (from January 1st, 2023)
  • The new Schengen Council (from March 2022), which integrates a series of Ministers of the Schengen area to make guided decisions and operations
  • The Schengen Coordinator (from June 2022), an integral part of the new Schengen area’s governance framework
  • The upcoming launch of the Schengen Scoreboard, which will help evaluate the functioning of the Schengen area
  • Stronger borders and police cooperation through a common European border management strategy based on interoperable IT systems for justice and home affairs, such as the Schengen Information System (from March 2023)

• At the same time, the State of Schengen Report 2023 presents several recommendations as the next steps to take in order to keep enhancing the functioning of the Schengen area. Some of the proposed actions involve:
  • The full participation of Bulgaria and Romania in the Schengen area to enlarge it and strengthen its unity
  • The utilization of the Schengen Information System (SIS) to improve the functioning of the return system with a mutual recognition basis (as explained in the Council Recommendation of 16 March 2023)
  • Boosting the fight against organized crime and drug trafficking by applying the Council recommendation on cross-border law enforcement cooperation (published on 24 May 2022)
  • Fortifying the EU external borders with the European Integrated Border Management strategy
  • Augmenting the Member States’ operational capacity with specific recommendations by country (new evaluation framework) and recommendations for Schengen as a whole
  • Eliminating remaining internal border controls, which are deemed unnecessary unless exceptional situations occur (such as the COVID-19 pandemic)
  • Monitoring the functioning of visa free regimes with EU visa policy tools created to fight against irregular migration and security risks. The elimination of high-risk investor citizenship and residency programs.

The report also includes best practices in several relevant areas such as police cooperation, visa policy returns, IT systems and data protection, etc.

“Schengen is the beating heart of Europe. It connects us. This second Schengen report outlines the measures we are taking to keep that heart healthy: in operation, in representation, and in membership,” summarized Ylva Johansson, Commissioner for Home Affairs. “I am looking forward to discussing the priorities for this new Schengen cycle at the Justice and Home Affairs Council on 8 June.”

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The city currently hosts a Turkish consulate and UN and international NGO offices. But people who needed a visa to travel to France or the Schengen area in general had to travel around 500 km to the visa application center in Baghdad, as their nearest visa application center in Erbil only processes applications from people residing in the autonomous region of Kurdistan.

Now, that has changed. The news was publicly announced on the website of the French embassy in Iraq, which clarified that the visa application center in Mosul will work for both French or Schengen visa applications. These applications will be forwarded to the French embassy in Baghdad, and then returned to the applicants, without them having to go there in person.

“The opening of this center concretely reflects France’s commitment to Mosul and the province of Nineveh,” said Jean-Christophe Augé, who has been the French Consul General in Mosul since French President Emmanuel Macron designated him to this role on 16 May 2022. “This center will facilitate visa applications for residents, notably students, academics, businessmen, and tourists.”

The province of Nineveh’s Governor, Nejm al-Joubouri,  pointed out that France is the first European nation to designate a consul general in the city.

Mosul is the second-largest city in Iraq and has a population of 1.5 million people.

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The goal of this legislative proposal is to introduce a new digital Schengen visa that will facilitate things for legitimate travelers and reduce certain security risks related to the physical visa.

Specifically, the new digital visa would be a cryptographically signed 2D barcode that would supplant the current visa sticker, which can be stolen or falsified. As for the new application procedure, it would be 100% online, except for first-time applicants or people with new travel documents or those who need to re-submit their biometric data due to its expiration.

While applicants in these situations would still need to go to the consulate in person, the rest of the applicants would be able to submit their personal information and electronic travel documents and supporting documents, and even pay for the Schengen visa fees, on a single online platform.

In the case that the individual wants to travel to several countries in the Schengen area, the online platform will be configured to automatically determine which Member State must process the applicant’s application depending on the duration of the trip, although the applicant will also be given the option to select a specific country on the basis of the purpose of travel.

“A digital Schengen visa will make it easier for legitimate travelers to apply and will at the same time help make the Schengen area safer”, said Maria Malmer Stenergard, the Swedish Minister for Migration, in a EU Council’s press release regarding this matter. “Online applications will reduce the number of trips to the consulate for travelers and make the process smoother for national administrations. At the same time, the digital visa will put an end to the risk of falsification and theft of the visa sticker.”

The legislative proposal on the digitalization of the Schengen visa procedures was first introduced by the European Commission on 27 April 2022, after technological advancements and the COVID-19 pandemic showed that digital procedures were more practical and even safer and more effective for applicants and national authorities alike.

At the time, Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson said: “A modern visa process is crucial to make travel to the EU easier for tourism and business. Half of those coming to the EU with a Schengen visa consider the visa application burdensome, one-third have to travel long distances to ask for a visa.  It is high time that the EU provides a quick, safe and web-based EU visa application platform for the citizens of the 102 third countries that require a short-term visa to travel to the EU.”

Now, the proposal on the Schengen visa digitalization will be reviewed by the Council presidency and the European Parliament, who must agree on the final wording of the legislative proposal based on the negotiating mandate that saw the light today.

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Additionally, he said that he expects the President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, to support his Schengen visa exemption proposal.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Portugal, João Gomes Cravinho, arrived in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, last Wednesday night.

Today, the Dominican Republic’s President Luis Abinader and the vice president Raquel Peña, as well as a dozen ministers and vice-ministers of the Dominican Government, received the Portuguese authorities with military honors at the National Palace of the Dominican Republic.

There, the Dominican President held a private conversation with Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. During that conversation, he asked him for support on the Schengen visa exemption proposal.

“We are asking the European Union to eliminate the visa requirement, so that Dominicans can travel to Europe without this requirement”, said Luis Abinader to the media, reassuring that the Dominican Republic has the support of the Portuguese President.

Additionally, he publicly thanked the Portuguese President for the “openness” that he showed on the matter.

The Dominican Republic, he stated, will keep supporting Portugal as the head of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which currently has Portuguese politician António Vitorino as general director.

The authorities of both countries also discussed other topics and signed agreements on several areas such as tourism, ports, higher education, and renewable energy.

The Dominican Republic is one of the multiple countries in the world that require a Schengen visa to cross the external borders of the European Union. Other countries of the Americas, such as Cuba, Ecuador, and Bolivia are also in that list, as well as most African countries.

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The European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS) is a new travel authorization system aimed at travelers from countries that do not currently require a visa to enter the Schengen area.

It is an automated IT system designed to improve security in the EU by identifying potential security risks and preventing them from entering the Schengen area. It will do this by screening travelers against various databases and assessing whether they pose a threat to public health, security, or law enforcement. Travelers who are deemed safe will receive an electronic travel authorization to enter the Schengen area.

The European Commission proposed ETIAS in April 2016. The proposal was accepted in November 2016, but the ETIAS Regulation 2018/1240 wouldn’t come out until September 2018. It came into effect one month later, and the European Agency for the operational management of large-scale IT systems in the area of freedom, security, and justice (eu-LISA) started developing ETIAS.

At that time, the launch date of ETIAS was expected to be 2021, but it was postponed to 2022. In July 2022, ETIAS launch date was delayed to May 2023. In August 2022, ETIAS launch date was rescheduled to November 2023. But now, in February 2023, the launch date of ETIAS has been modified to 2024.

This means that, if there aren’t other postponements, about 1.4 billion people from more than 60 visa-exempt countries will have to apply for an ETIAS’ travel authorization to enter the Schengen area in 2024.

In fact, the ETIAS’ travel authorization will be mandatory for all travelers from visa-exempt countries who plan to stay in the Schengen area for up to 90 days within any 180-day period. Border guards will ask for this travel authorization along with other travel documents at external border crossing points.

The application for ETIAS will be available in 24 languages and it will have a cost of €7, unless the applicant is a family member of an EU citizen or a non-EU citizen with a right to move freely across the EU. In this case, it will be free of charge.

Most applications are expected to be processed in a few minutes and, in some cases, up to 96 hours. Or, if additional information or documentation is required, the process can be extended to up to 30 days.

The aim of ETIAS is to simplify border inspections, avoiding bureaucracy, delays, and refusals of entry at border crossing points.

ETIAS is part of the Security Union, which will aid in accomplishing the European Agenda on Security and Migration objectives, enhancing internal security within the Schengen area and strengthening the EU’s borders with a more effective external border management.

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This represents the end of physical stickers and physical applications for Schengen visas.

Slovenian rapporteur Matjaž Nemec emphasized that physical stickers pose several security risks. And physical applications cost money and effort, according to the European Parliament.

The latest modification of the EU’s Visa Code introduced electronic signs in visa applications. Now, in order to fully digitize visa application procedures, there must be no objection in the European Parliament plenary. If that’s the case, then legislation and additional details can be negotiated and prepared for implementation.

If the legislation is approved, all Schengen visa applications will be processed in a single online platform. If travelers need to enter several countries in the Schengen area, the platform will tell them which country will process their visa application.

The members of the European Parliament also requested amendments so that the platform would be available in several languages and would be accessible for people with disabilities and people who lack digital skills.

The platform will also be configured to avoid the refusal of visa applications due to repeated IP addresses, as people in areas with poor internet connectivity often share IP addresses. However, it will not collect or process IP addresses as part of the visa application.

“We want to deliver a modern, user-friendly digital solution for EU visa applications, along with simplified application procedures”, said rapporteur Matjaž Nemec. “In my report, I have sought to ensure the new system is even more applicant-friendly, by removing barriers stemming from language, disability status, lack of digital skills or poor internet connectivity, and to ensure that applicants’ data is more secure by introducing additional processing safeguards.”

The vote for the adoption of the digitalization of visa procedures closed with 34 votes in favor, 5 against, and 20 abstaining.

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In fact, checks at internal land and sea borders between Croatia and the other countries in the Schengen Area have already been removed, although checks at internal air borders won’t be lifted until 26 March 2023 to coincide with the dates of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) summer/winter time schedule. 

According to a press release published at the European Commission’s website, this is an important milestone in the history of Croatia that comes after a period of “intensive preparation and substantial efforts by Croatia to meet all the necessary requirements”. 

Actually, Croatia spent several years in the Schengen evaluation process (from 2016 to 2020). After it showed that it applied all the Schengen rules in accordance with the agreed common standards and with fundamental principles, the European Commission declared that Croatia met all the conditions to join the Schengen area.  

The European Council came to the same conclusion in December 2021, but the addition of new members to the Schengen area requires an unanimous decision that didn’t come until 8 December 2022. 

The European Commission had urged the Council to allow the full participation of Croatia in the Schengen area in a communication from 16 November 2022. 

On the other hand, Croatia’s entry into the Eurozone was supported by the European Commission (which concluded that Croatia met the criteria for adopting the euro in its 2022 Convergence Report), by the European Central Bank (which concluded the same thing in its own Convergence Report), and by the EU Finance Ministers (who took the formal decisions to allow Croatia’s adoption of the euro). 

From January 1st, 2023, the euro will gradually replace the Croatian kuna at a conversion rate of 1 euro for 7.53450 Croatian kuna. 

The Croatian National Bank has already supplied commercial banks with euro cash, which in turn have supplied euro cash to shops and businesses. 

Kuna cash can be exchanged for euro cash at the Financial Agency and post offices until 30 June 2023 and at commercial banks until 31 December 2023. The exchange will be free of charge until 30 June 2023 up to a limit of 100 kuna banknotes and 100 kuna coins.

People can also exchange kuna banknotes without a time limit and kuna coins until 31 December 2025 at the Croatian National Central Bank for free.

Additionally, automatic teller machines (ATMs) in Croatia will deliver euro banknotes (70% at the time, and the rest as soon as possible within two weeks). 

“The euro will bring great economic and social benefits to Croatia’s people and businesses. It will lower barriers for companies, reduce costs for importers and exporters – leading to more choice and better prices for consumers. Together with Schengen membership, adopting the euro will give an extra boost to Croatia’s crucial tourism sector”, said Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for An Economy that Works for People and European Commissioner for Trade. “Joining the euro makes countries stronger, more resilient, competitive and prosperous. This is an important step for Croatia to mark its full European integration, and important for the entire European Union”. 

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Checks at internal land and sea borders will be lifted on 1 January 2023, and checks at internal air borders will be lifted on 26 March 2023. The issuing of Schengen visas and full use of the Schengen Information System will be available for Croatia from 1 January 2023.

Croatia has successfully passed all the applicable Schengen evaluation procedures, in a process that started in 2016 and ended in 2020. In 2019, the European Commission determined that Croatia met all the requirements to enter the Schengen area, and the EU Council concluded the same in 2021.

Croatia stood out for its management of the external borders and visas, police and judicial cooperation (such as in criminal matters and firearms), and its use of the Schengen Information System.

But it needed the unanimous approval of members of the EU Council to be fully included in the Schengen area and obtain free movement rights with the rest of the Schengen countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

“I am very pleased that during the Czech Presidency, Croatia was able to take two important steps in its European integration by joining both the euro and the Schengen areas”, said Czech Minister of Interior Vít Rakušan in a press release from the EU Council published on 8 December 2022. “I am confident that these successes will pave the way for other member states who fulfill the conditions to take the next step in their European journeys, and my colleagues and I will continue to work hard to ensure that we can welcome Bulgaria and Romania into the Schengen family in the near future.”

According to members of the European Parliament, Bulgaria and Romania have long met the conditions to fully join the Schengen area as well. The Parliament urged EU Member States to include them in the Schengen area, and requested the EU Council to take action on this matter by the end of 2022.

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This implies the removal of internal border controls with these Member States, which the Commission states in the document that will make Europe safer (through reinforced protection of Schengen Area’s common external borders), more prosperous (through the elimination of time lost at borders and facilitation of people or business contacts), and more attractive (because this decision would result in the expansion of world’s largest common area without internal border controls).

The Commission argues that an enlarged Schengen Area will strengthen the European Union both internally and globally, and that the inclusion of Bulgaria, Romania, and Croatia in the Schengen Area will help it reach its full potential.

But mainly, the Commission reminded the Council that these states have long met the conditions to become part of the Schengen Area and that they have a strong record of achievements related to that matter.

In fact, Bulgaria and Romania successfully completed the Schengen evaluation process in 2011. According to the Commission, they both have efficient border surveillance and systematic border checks. Additionally, they both collaborate with the international police and Europol to fight against cross-border crime, irregular migration, and human trafficking. The Schengen Information System is also well-established in both countries.

Croatia, instead, went through the Schengen evaluation process from 2016 to 2020. In 2021, it set up an Independent Monitoring Mechanism, which helps keep a check on independent human rights in border-related operations involving migrants and asylum-seekers.

Later that year, the Council confirmed that it met the conditions to become part of the Schengen Area without internal border controls.

In spite of all these the Council never lifted internal borders with Bulgaria, Romania, or Croatia. In March 2022, Bulgaria and Romania issued a Joint Declaration for this reason and invited a team of experts coordinated by the Commission to assess the application of the Schengen rules in their countries. This voluntary fact-finding mission took place in October 2022.

“The recent voluntary fact-finding mission to Bulgaria and Romania, as well as the last revisit to Croatia and its achievements concerning the monitoring of fundamental rights at the external borders, decisively confirm that these countries continue to effectively meet the rigorous Schengen standards and have proven to have a model track record of implementation [of the Schengen rules]”, it reads on the Communication. “Bulgaria, Romania, and Croatia play a key role in securing our common external border and effectively contributing to a high level of security and prosperity (…). These countries have also demonstrated a high level of commitment to ensuring an effective response to the migratory pressure and related challenges”.

The Commission added that “Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia’s accession to Schengen responds to both a European promise and a legitimate expectation that membership follows when all the agreed conditions are verified and met”.

Now, the Justice and Home Affairs Council is expected to vote on the Commission’s request to allow the full participation of these countries in the Schengen Area on 8 December 2022.

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