A notice of meeting published by the EU Council on 29 June 2026 schedules a meeting of the Working Party for Schengen Matters / Mixed Committee (EU-Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein) for 3 July 2026 at 10:00 in Brussels. The meeting will focus on Schengen governance and evaluation, including updates on the Schengen Barometer+, priority actions for the 2026-2027 cycle, and evaluation follow-ups for Italy and Cyprus.
The agenda includes four main governance items. The Presidency and Commission will provide information on the follow-up to the June 2026 Schengen Council meeting and present the work plan for the second semester. The Commission will present an update on the Schengen Barometer+ (document 8991/26), followed by an exchange of views. The Presidency and Commission will also inform on the implementation of Priority Actions for the Schengen Council cycle 2026-2027 (document 8992/26), with best practice presentations by Switzerland, Croatia, and Europol, and an exchange of views.
Under Schengen evaluations, the Commission will update on ongoing and planned evaluation activities. A key item is the 2021 Schengen evaluation of Italy, where a verification visit on the return action plan progress will be discussed (document 9246/26; Commission presentation). Under any other business, the state of play of the Schengen evaluation of Cyprus will be addressed.
Agencies including Frontex, eu-LISA, Europol, EUAA, FRA, and CEPOL are invited for relevant items. The meeting advances the operational work of the Schengen evaluation mechanism, which assesses member states' compliance with Schengen rules. The discussion on Italy's return deficiencies signals continued scrutiny of member states' implementation of return procedures, a politically sensitive area. The meeting does not involve legislative decisions but prepares technical and political follow-up for the Schengen Council.