Federal Councillor Jans pleads for open borders at the Schengen Council
Published: Thursday, Jun 13th 2024, 16:30
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At a meeting of EU ministers in Luxembourg, Federal Councillor Beat Jans called for the lifting of border controls in the Schengen area. The improved exchange of personal data between national authorities should help in this regard.
The Head of the Federal Department of Justice and Police (FDJP) attended the Home Affairs and Justice Council of the European Union (EU) on Thursday. Switzerland is invited to the meeting on the basis of its Schengen Agreement. The discussions focused on a report on the situation in the Schengen area, as Jans told the Keystone-SDA news agency after the meeting.
Eight countries in the Schengen area - which aims to abolish border controls - are currently carrying out checks at their borders, as can be seen on the EU Commission's website. The Federal Council recently announced that Switzerland would also be stepping up its controls until the beginning of September.
Data exchange to increase security
In order to lift border controls, the states would like to better control the external borders of the Schengen area. Among other things, a new information system is to be introduced for this purpose. Switzerland will be ready to participate from October 6, said Jans.
The EU's recently adopted asylum and migration pact should also contribute to greater security. The EU member states must submit their implementation plans to the EU Commission. Certain elements of the pact are also binding for Switzerland. The federal government will also submit its plans to the EU Commission by October, said the head of the FDJP.
It means a major change for asylum procedures. More data such as facial images, fingerprints and voice samples will be collected from migrants. The aim of this is to better identify people and protect against forgeries. The aim is to curb secondary migration within Europe. Whether the pact will be effective will depend on how it is implemented, said the Federal Council.
©Keystone/SDA
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