Skopje, 26 October 2023 (MIA) - European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson at Thursday’s press conference in Skopje said that a new version of the Schengen regulation is being considered, and the negotiations are expected to be completed during the current Spanish EU presidency. It would be good for countries outside the EU not to pay a fee.

She confirmed that recently there are more and more countries from the Schengen area that have tightened border controls, but that they are applied very selectively so that there are no delays at the border crossings.

“Some border controls are from 10 days ago and are related to global conditions and events. What we have seen so far when we cooperate with member states that introduce internal border controls, we see that they use these controls very selectively in order not to create problems and queues at border crossings. This is the practice with newly introduced border controls,” Johansson said, answering a reporter’s question at a press conference held at the end of the first day of the Ministerial Forum on Justice and Home Affairs hosted by North Macedonia alongside the Spanish Presidency of the EU Council.

As for the introduction of ETIAS, which stands for European Travel Information and Authorization System, and whether Macedonian citizens will have to pay a fee to enter any of the EU countries, Johansson said that a new regulation is being prepared and that it would be good if there were no fee payment.

“A new version of the Schengen regulation is being considered, and the negotiations are expected to be completed during the current Spanish EU presidency. The Spanish Presidency will prioritize the completion of negotiations on this topic. So it would be good to have a new regulation and not pay a fee,” Johansson said.

The European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS) was expected to become operational at the end of the year, but its implementation was delayed. It applies to citizens of third countries who do not need a visa to travel to the Schengen area, and it also covers the countries of the Western Balkans, including North Macedonia. They should apply for a travel authorization using the ETIAS website or mobile app before their trip and will need to pay a fee of seven euros.