February 8, 2021
The TRESSPASS H2020 project has provided feedback to the European Commission new Schengen strategy roadmap initiative.
The project is coordinated by Dr Stelios C. A. Thomopoulos, ISL, IIT, NCSR Demokritos, and the specific initiative was driven by the deputy Coordinator and ISL Associate Researcher, Dr Dimitris Kyriazanos. The initiative is in line with the project’s strategic objective for policy-level impact and linking relevant TRESSPASS findings to stakeholders and EU Institution initiatives. TRESSPASS is looking forward to contributing to the subsequent consultation phase.
Current legal & regulatory framework as well as border controls modus operandi don’t offer many alternatives to EU MS wishing to react and adapt to a perceived higher level of threat. Instead, the reintroduction of standard internal border controls is decided as the only option, effectively suspending the free movement of people and core benefits of the Schengen area. Risk-based screening across all border crossing modalities (air, land, and sea) can offer necessary adaptive capabilities and innovative CONOPS to policy makers and practitioners and enhance decision making beyond the current binary: free movement vs border controls.
The consultation text is available here.