The French EU presidency has received broad support for the Schengen reform and a gradual adoption of the migration and asylum pact with greater emphasis on the protection of the EU's external borders, and these reforms can go in parallel with the process of admission of Croatia to the Schengen area, Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic said on Thursday.

Bozinovic attended an informal meeting of EU home affairs ministers in the northern French city of Lille on Thursday, which focused on the reform of the Schengen passport-free travel area and the new Pact on Migration and Asylum.

On Wednesday evening, during an informal dinner, the ministers were addressed by French President Emmanuel Macron, who said that one of the priorities of the French presidency was seeking a European response to the migration challenge through the gradual application of the new pact, and that the protection of the EU’s external borders was key to a return to the Schengen regime without internal border controls.

Macron called for the establishment of a Schengen Council to oversee compliance with the Schengen acquis and encourage member states to remove any shortcomings identified during evaluations.

Last December, the EU member states adopted conclusions confirming that Croatia has met the conditions for the application of the Schengen acquis, which paved the way for a final decision on its accession to the area without internal border controls. The decision might be adopted during the French presidency.

Asked if Croatia would have to wait for the completion of the Schengen reform or this process could go in parallel, Bozinovic said that “it can absolutely go in parallel,” adding that Croatia had ensured this of its own accord.

“Initially, the talk was of reform first and then Schengen enlargement, but we have clearly shown that on all technical elements we are better prepared than many of the countries that are already Schengen members. Everything we have done during our preparations shows that Croatia is a benefit to Schengen,” Bozinovic said.

He said that the most important Croatian arguments in favour of fast admission to the Schengen area was the fact that it had passed much stricter evaluations than the present member states.

Bozinovic said he expected the Council of the EU soon to send to the European Parliament a draft decision on Croatia’s admission and that he also expected a lively discussion and support for Croatia’s entry in Parliament.

A country’s accession to the Schengen area is decided by a consensus of member states, which first must request an opinion from the European Parliament, which is not binding.

The French proposal to establish a Schengen Council received the broad support of the member states. The Schengen Council would consist of the home affairs ministers of all member states and associated countries. The first meeting of the Schengen Council could be held as early as March, at the first formal meeting of home affairs ministers.

As for the migration and asylum pact, on which there has been no consensus for years because of disputed mandatory quotas, France proposes a gradual adoption. The first stage would be to agree that all people entering the EU should be registered and checked.

France is in favor of abandoning mandatory quotas and proposes that only member states that so wish should take in migrants, while those that do not should financially contribute to their care.