The European Commission has submitted a proposal to reform the Schengen area
Changes will be made to take into account the coronavirus pandemic and the migration crisis at the borders of the EU states and Belarus. The reform also envisages maintaining free movement within the Schengen area while strengthening controls along its perimeter.
“The proposed changes are aimed at strengthening coordination within the EU and will give states better tools to confront challenges in managing the common external EU borders as well as internal borders within the Schengen space,” the Commission said in a statement.
With regard to the migration crisis, it is planned to reduce the number of existing checkpoints and strengthen the security of the EU’s external border and to deal with migrants’ asylum applications directly at the border area.