Recent developments in Paris are strengthening the measures in the European Union. Denmark, Belgium and Great Britain talk about closer security cooperation with other countries, about strengthening the measures for tapping, monitoring Internet communications and creating a database of all travelers. Changing the liberal character of the Schengen area is mentioned, which, if happens, would affect us as well. However, most of the domestic security experts believe that this will not affect Macedonia as a country.
As part of the European media report, the EU is focused on the issue of establishing a database of people who use air transport in the EU, known as the PND (Passenger name records), which means that the personal data of millions of EU citizens will be collected and kept for years. Spain, with the support of France and Germany, is trying to broker a limit of travel without a passport in the Schengen area and reintroduce identification for citizens crossing the borders between member states.
Experts do not expect a review of visa liberalization, or that Macedonian authorities will follow the example of the EU to tighten legislation.
– The goal of any change in the rules of the Schengen area is not aimed at limiting the movement of honest citizens, but to those who threaten the security of the Union. There will be no consequences of such measures in terms of procedures for travel and movement in the EU for citizens of Macedonia – says Nikola Dujovski, professor at the Faculty of Security at University “St. Kliment Ohridski”.
However, security experts we consulted consider solutions that are debated in the EU after the attack on “Charlie Hebdo” can partly be on account of restrictions on fundamental human rights and freedoms.
– These measures will not affect Macedonia generally, nor would the EU go to extremes by putting the visa liberalization into question. In the case after the attack on “Charlie Hebdo”, it is a question of another nature. The perpetrators of the terrorist attack are French nationals, and they are not related to the Western Balkans region. In the case, our region does not appear as a threat – says Stojan Slaveski, professor of European University in Skopje.
Simultaneously, Denmark reactivated the debate on stronger cooperation with other countries of the Union, but for that to happen, Copenhagen needs to lift clauses with which the country has exceptions in the field of justice and internal affairs in the EU, similar to the UK.
In Belgium, strengthening of measures for tapping and the possibility to extend it to people for who there is only “passive doubt” is discussed. But for such a measure to pass, the Belgian authorities will have to obtain the consent of the mobile operators, to which they owe 75 million euros for unpaid tapping. Afterwards, they will have to convince civil societies and left-oriented parties to this.
