MEP Tanja Fajon Elected to Lead Task Force for Schengen Zone

Tanja Fajon

Tanja Fajon, a Slovenian Member of the European Parliament (MEP) has been elected by the European Parliament Committee on Civil Justice, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) to lead as the chair of a special task force for the Schengen Area.

Fajon promised to restore the importance and reputation of the idea of the Schengen Zone. The main goal is to restore the area to being borderless. 

“It is high time to make a step forward, as the Schengen Area has been threatened for too long by the reinstatement of unjustified internal border controls,” said Fajon.

The task force will also evaluate whether Croatia meets the conditions necessary to become a member of the Schengen Area. Fajon will be in direct contact with the European Commissioner Ylva Johansson during this process. 

Fajon said about Commissioner Johansson “We share common ambitions – to re-establish the space of free movement and effectively manage migration.”

There have been accusations in the past against Croatia by NGOs that they illegally and violently removed migrants from their border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the accusations Croatia did not follow legal procedures for regulations on migrants.

On October 22, 2019 the European Commission ruled that Croatia has satisfied the necessary requirements to ensure that the conditions for applying all Schengen rules and standards are met.