Swiss Justice Minister Beat Jans.
Keystone-SDA
At a meeting with EU Commissioner for Internal Affairs Magnus Brunner, Beat Jans expressed concern about the increase in internal border controls being carried out in the Schengen Area.
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At a meeting in Zurich on Friday, Jans and Brunner discussed the functioning of the Schengen Area – which was extended to include Romania and Bulgaria on January 1, 2025 – according to a press release by the Swiss justice ministry on Saturday.
Internal controls at borders in the Schengen area must be carried out within the framework of legal requirements and should be coordinated between the states concerned, Jans told Brunner. For his part, the EU commissioner emphasised the importance of effective protection at Schengen’s external borders – which also necessitates cooperation, he underlined.
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Brunner also acknowledged Switzerland’s position as a Schengen state and said the country played “an important role for the EU in the effective management of migration. This management is necessary so that it is not perceived as a challenge but as an opportunity,” he said, according to the justice ministry press release.
Migration and asylum pact
Jans also emphasised the importance of the EU’s migration and asylum pact – for which the Swiss government submitted its position to parliament on Friday. The pact is a milestone and an opportunity to make migration management throughout Europe more efficient and sustainable, according to Jans.
Jans and Brunner further discussed the security situation in Syria and the protection of refugees from Ukraine. On these issues, it is in Switzerland’s interest to coordinate with the EU, as this could prevent secondary migration within Schengen, the justice ministry wrote.
Brunner has been the EU Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration since December 1, 2024.
As justice minister, Jans regularly attends the meetings of justice and home affairs ministers of the Schengen member states.
Adapted from German by DeepL/dos
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