Obstacles still block Schengen extension

Date: 18/09/1997

By Simon Coss

DESPITE numerous declarations of good intent and several missed deadlines, it still remains unclear exactly when Austria, Italy and Greece will be allowed to become full members of the Schengen free movement zone.

The only thing that looks almost certain is that the trio will not now be allowed in at the same time.

Although they are signatories to the deal, they will only be completely integrated when given the green light by the seven fully-fledged Schengen states - the Netherlands, Germany, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain and Portugal.

It had been hoped that Athens, Rome and Vienna would be admitted at the end of next month, but Germany poured cold water on that idea in April when it insisted that the deadline had never formally been agreed.

Officials from the 15 Schengen signatory states - the three hopefuls, the seven full members, Denmark, Sweden and Finland, and non-EU states Norway and Iceland - met in Brussels this week in order to lay the groundwork for ministerial-level talks in Vienna early next month. Ironically, the meeting was chaired by Austria, which currently holds the Schengen group's six-month rotating presidency.

Sources close to the meeting indicated afterwards that while some progress looked likely over admitting Austria and Italy, ministers would probably call for further studies to be made into Greece's readiness.

“Italy and Austria could be admitted relatively soon, perhaps even before next April, but there was a general feeling of concern expressed by all of the full-time states about Greece's ability to protect its external frontiers against illegal immigration,” said one expert.

The April 1998 deadline was first floated after a July meeting in Austria between Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and Austrian Premier Viktor Klima. That 'mini-summit' appeared to clear up many German concerns over the security of Rome and Vienna's non-EU borders.

But there are still practical obstacles to be overcome before the trio can be admitted. The Dutch parliament must debate Greece's application before it can be approved, while France's national assembly has yet to discuss the cases of both Athens and Vienna.

While it is thought that the debates themselves should not hold up progress significantly, critics point out that France in particular still appears wary about any attempts to enlarge Schengen.

They suggest that newly-elected Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin's administration is unlikely to shift dramatically from the line on Schengen pursued by his right-wing predecessors.

Jospin's Interior Minister Jean-Pierre Chevenement has already indicated that France has no immediate intention to lift its 'temporary' border controls with Belgium and Luxembourg. The checks remain in place because Paris disapproves of the Netherlands' liberal drugs laws.

French Socialist MEP Michèle Lindeperg, an expert on Schengen, added confusion to the whole debate this week by claiming that her government colleagues still had worries over Italy's external frontiers.

“I don't think Schengen is a priority for the new government. The situation is very ambiguous at the moment,” she said.