BAKGRUNN (fra rådsbeslutningen)

(1) Article 4(2) of the 2005 Act of Accession of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania provides that the provisions of the Schengen acquis not referred to in Article 4(1) of that Act are to only apply in each of those Member States pursuant to a Council decision to that effect after verification in accordance with the applicable Schengen evaluation procedures that the necessary conditions for the application of all parts of the acquis concerned have been met in those Member States.

(2) By its Decision 2010/365/EU (2), the Council, after verification that the necessary conditions for the application of the data protection part of the Schengen acquis had been met by Bulgaria and Romania, rendered the provisions of the Schengen acquis relating to the Schengen Information System (SIS) applicable to Bulgaria and Romania from 15 October 2010, with the exception of the obligation to refuse entry into or stay on their territories to third-country nationals for whom an SIS alert has been issued by another Member State for the purposes of refusing entry or stay in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1987/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3) and with the obligation to refrain from issuing SIS alerts and entering additional information and to refrain from exchanging supplementary information on third-country nationals for the purposes of refusing entry or stay in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1987/2006 (the ‘remaining provisions of the Schengen acquis relating to the SIS’).

(3) The Council has verified, in accordance with the applicable Schengen evaluation procedures set out in the Decision of the Executive Committee of 16 September 1998 (4), that the necessary conditions for the application of the Schengen acquis have been met in all the remaining areas of the Schengen acquis, namely air borders, land borders, police cooperation, data protection, the SIS, sea borders and visas, in Bulgaria and Romania.

(4) On 9 June 2011, the Council concluded that the conditions in each of the remaining areas of the Schengen acquis had been fulfilled by Bulgaria and Romania.

(5) It is therefore possible to set the dates for the application of the Schengen acquis by Bulgaria and Romania, from which checks on persons at the internal borders with those Member States should be lifted.

(6) On 12 October 2017, the Council adopted Decision (EU) 2017/1908 (5) putting into effect certain provisions of the Schengen acquis relating to the Visa Information System (VIS) in Bulgaria and Romania.

(7) On 25 June 2018, the Council adopted Decision (EU) 2018/934 (6) putting into effect the remaining provisions of the Schengen acquis relating to the SIS in Bulgaria and Romania.

(8) The simplified regime for third-country nationals holding a national short-stay visa issued by Bulgaria or Romania for transit through or intended stays on their territories not exceeding 90 days in any 180-day period, introduced by Decision No 565/2014/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (7), should be maintained in order to avoid travel becoming more difficult for certain categories of persons. Consequently, certain provisions of that Decision should continue to apply for a limited transitional period.

(9) It is appropriate, for technical and operational reasons, to lift first the checks at internal air and sea borders as soon as possible in 2024. Those checks should be lifted on the first possible date corresponding to the seasonal change of the IATA schedule.

(10) A further decision should be taken by the Council acting by unanimity in accordance with Article 4(2) of the 2005 Act of Accession of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania, to establish an appropriate date for the lifting of checks at internal land borders, taking into account the relevant technical and operational arrangements at those borders and the state of play of the mutual cooperation referred to in recital 11. Member States and the Commission should work to enable the Council to take such a decision.

(11) The Council takes note that there is a mutual understanding on future cooperation between certain Member States with the support of the Commission. The complementary measures and commitments outlined in the statements to the records of the Council will contribute to the mutual trust and cooperation between those Member States and are thus important factors which led the Council to take this Decision.

(12) As regards Iceland and Norway, this Decision constitutes a development of the provisions of the Schengen acquis within the meaning of the Agreement concluded by the Council of the European Union and the Republic of Iceland and the Kingdom of Norway concerning the latters’ association with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis (8) which fall within the area referred to in Article 1, points B, C, D and F, of Council Decision 1999/437/EC (9).

(13) As regards Switzerland, this Decision constitutes a development of the provisions of the Schengen acquis within the meaning of the Agreement between the European Union, the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on the Swiss Confederation’s association with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis (10) which fall within the area referred to in Article 1, points B, C, D and F, of Decision 1999/437/EC read in conjunction with Article 3 of Council Decision 2008/146/EC (11).

(14) As regards Liechtenstein, this Decision constitutes a development of the provisions of the Schengen acquis within the meaning of the Protocol between the European Union, the European Community, the Swiss Confederation and the Principality of Liechtenstein on the accession of the Principality of Liechtenstein to the Agreement between the European Union, the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on the Swiss Confederation’s association with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis (12) which fall within the area referred to in Article 1, points B, C, D and F, of Decision 1999/437/EC read in conjunction with Article 3 of Council Decision 2011/350/EU (13),