The Cost of Non-Schengen: Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Aspects
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
The Cost of Non-Schengen: Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs aspects Cost of Non-Europe Report The Cost of Non-Schengen: Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs aspects The Cost of Non-Schengen: Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs aspects Study At their meeting of 2 February 2016 the coordinators of the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) requested the Policy Department for Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs to conduct 'An analysis of the Schengen area in the wake of the recent developments'.1 In addition, the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS) was requested to provide a specific analysis of the potential costs of re-introducing internal border controls - or of the 'Cost of non-Schengen' on the areas of Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs - in coordination with the Policy Department. In response to that request, this Cost of Non-Europe Report has been drawn up by the European Added Value Unit of the Directorate for Impact Assessment and European Added Value within DG EPRS. The aim of this study is to identify the costs of the (temporary) re-introduction of border controls between the Schengen Member States in economic, social and political terms and the potential benefits of more concerted action at European level, compared to the lack of such action or action by Member States alone, focusing on civil liberties, justice and home affairs. This assessment builds on expert research commissioned specifically for the purpose from RAND Europe in the form of a Research Paper entitled ‘The Cost of Non-Schengen: Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Aspects’. This Research Paper is found in the Annex to this report. 1 Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), ‘An Analysis of the Schengen Area in the wake of recent developments’, Research paper for Policy Department C: Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs, Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, DG IPOL, European Parliament, 2016, PE 571356 PE 581.387 1 Cost of Non-Europe Report Abstract The Schengen Area is one of the major achievements of European integration as it facilitates the free movement of persons, goods and services which has brought significant benefits to the European economy and citizens. Yet, the recent unprecedented influx of refugees and migrants to Europe has exposed serious deficiencies in the common asylum, migration and external border control policies. These deficiencies, together with concerns related to internal security, have led several Schengen States to reintroduce internal border controls. This study identifies the costs, of the (temporary) reintroduction of border controls between the Schengen Member States, with a special focus on civil liberties, justice, and home affairs aspects. Given the restricted data availability and methodological limitations, the economic, social and political costs of reintroducing border controls within the Schengen Area are hard to measure. Within this context, it is difficult to estimate with a sufficient degree of certainty an overall cost in this policy field. Based on the expert research, however, this study estimates that - depending on their scope and length - the costs linked with the reintroduction of border controls could range between €0.05 billion and €20 billion in one-off costs and between €2 billion and €4 billion in annual operating costs. This amounts to around 0.02%-0.03 % of the Schengen area GDP. As regards the offences investigated, the abolition of border controls in the light of Schengen has not led to higher crime rates, nor has the 2007 Schengen enlargement increased the perception of insecurity among EU citizens. On the contrary, citizens’ trust in each other and towards public institutions seems to have increased. It is important to note that the abolition of border controls has been accompanied by measures to facilitate cross- border police and judicial cooperation, for instance adding to the number of illicit drug seizures. The societal benefits of this cooperation could be undone by a return to permanent border controls. Public trust in the EU seems to have been undermined, not by the existence of the Schengen Area, but rather by the failure of the European Union to effectively address the deficiencies exposed by the refugee crises. This study recommends more concerted action at EU level with a view to returning to a fully functioning Schengen Area. Regaining inter-Member State and citizens’ trust in the EU’s ability to tackle the deficiencies exposed by the refugee crisis should be an immediate priority. More concerted action at EU level is necessary to foster solidarity and cooperation between Member State authorities. Their work should also be supported through EU agencies, such as the European Border and Coast Guard, Europol, Eurojust and the European Asylum Support Office. The need for changes to the current Schengen governance framework should be further considered based on compliance with the conditions allowing five Member States to maintain their internal border controls until November 2016. PE 581.387 2 The Cost of Non-Schengen: Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs aspects AUTHOR Wouter van Ballegooij, European Added Value Unit. The author would like to thank Pierre Goudin, Alexandra Gatto and Maria Christina Stavridou for their contributions. To contact the Unit, please email: [email protected] ABOUT THE PUBLISHER This paper has been drawn up by the European Added Value Unit of the Directorate for Impact Assessment and European Added Value, within the Directorate–General for Parliamentary Research Services of the European Parliament. LANGUAGE VERSIONS Original: EN Translations: DE, FR This document is available on the internet at: www.europarl.eu/thinktank DISCLAIMER The content of this document is the sole responsibility of the author and any opinions expressed therein do not necessarily represent the official position of the European Parliament. It is addressed to the Members and staff of the EP for their parliamentary work. Reproduction and translation for non-commercial purposes are authorised, provided the source is acknowledged and the European Parliament is given prior notice and sent a copy. Manuscript completed in September 2016. Brussels © European Union, 2016. PE 581.387 ISBN: 978-92-823-9958-3 doi:10.2861/58070 QA-01-16-770-EN-N PE 581.387 3 Cost of Non-Europe Report Note on methodology The notion of the 'Cost of non-Europe' was introduced by Michel Albert and James Ball in a 1983 report commissioned by the European Parliament. It was also a central element in a 1988 study carried out for the European Commission by the Italian economist Paolo Cecchini on the cost of non-Europe in the single market. Cost of Non-Europe (CoNE) reports are designed to study the possibilities for gains and/or the realisation of a 'public good' through common action at EU level in specific policy areas and sectors. They attempt to identify areas that are expected to benefit most from deeper EU integration, where the EU’s added value is potentially significant. The specific aim of this Cost of Non-Europe report is to identify the root cause of gaps and barriers that have led to the reintroduction of internal border controls in the Schengen Area (without prejudice to the question as to whether these deficiencies justify the reintroduction of internal border controls). The costs of the reintroduction of those border controls were estimated in economic, social and political terms, focusing on civil liberties, justice and home affairs aspects. Where it was not possible to quantify all the costs and effects, a qualitative, complementary approach was used. The economic impact of the reintroduction of border controls was estimated based on research that followed a bottom-up cost modelling approach comprising (i) the one-off fixed costs of setting up or reconstructing border crossing points and (ii) the operating, patrolling, administrative and maintenance costs of the day-to-day border controls. This approach was then applied to three potential scenarios affecting the scope and length of internal border controls. Estimates were based on extrapolating data from Finland, Switzerland and Latvia; however, this data covered the overall expenses related to border protection only, thus preventing a more detailed analysis. The social impact of the (temporary) reintroduction of border controls was measured based on research looking at the impact of border controls on crime and security. There are, however, limitations to measuring this impact due to the lack of clear criminal definitions with comparable data among the Schengen States. Therefore a number of similarly-defined crimes were selected (acquisitive crimes, homicides, (hard) drugs). It is also important to bear in mind that this data only concerns reported crimes. As reporting of crimes differs between Schengen States, this report also draws on crime victimisation survey data. The political impact was estimated based on research looking at changes in the public’s trust in others, in politicians, in national parliaments and the European Parliament, in the police, or in the legal system, both in original Schengen countries, and those that acceded in 2008. A comparison was also made between border and non-border regions. Finally, this report recommends different EU policy options that could help overcome the identified gaps and barriers. PE 581.387 4 The Cost of Non-Schengen: Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs aspects