De facto repeal of the Schengen Agreement for Greek nationals
7.12.2017
Question for written answer E-007555-17
to the Commission
Rule 130
Manolis Kefalogiannis (PPE)
Recently, Greek nationals have been subjected to strict travel document controls when visiting a number of Member States.
This is a de facto repeal of the Schengen Agreement for Greek nationals.
Nationals of the Schengen Area Member States are known to be entitled to travel to any State within the Schengen Area without having to produce an identity card or passport, although it is recommended that they carry either one of them, as they may be requested to prove their identity, e.g. when boarding an aircraft or in the case of a police control.
In view of this, can the Commission say:
- —Are these controls carried out only on Greek nationals and do these travel document controls constitute a repeal of the Schengen Agreement or an infringement thereof by way of derogation or exception?
- —Is the Commission aware of this fact and what steps does it intend to take?
- —Has the Commission been officially notified by the Member States of their intentions? Has the Council agreed to the actions of these Member States? If it has, what was the Greek government’s response?