Today the European Commission presented its first ever Schengen 'health check', a biannual overview of the functioning of the area of free movement, with the aim of ensuring a coherent interpretation and implementation of the common rules.

ALDE MEP Renate Weber (PNL, Romania), EP rapporteur on the proposed Regulation to review the common rules on the reintroduction of controls and internal borders in exceptional circumstances, said: "This overview is extremely useful and represents the excellent practice that we wish to be established as called for in our report. Notably, this health check includes all decisions to reintroduce border controls taken during the year by Member States. This gives us the chance to evaluate whether the Schengen provisions have been abused, that decisions to reintroduce internal border controls were proportionate, and that the balance between security and freedom of movement has been respected".

Moreover, Mrs Weber added: "This report should be presented during a regular annual debate on Schengen within the Parliament where representatives from the Member States that reintroduced internal borders checks could also be invited. We are convinced this would ensure the sound transparency and accountability that the Schengen area deserves".

"In an area where persons can move freely, the reintroduction of controls at the internal borders should remain an exception and migration should not per se be considered to be a threat to public policy or internal security", Mrs Weber concluded.