At a special meeting of EU interior ministers in Brussels, a majority of member states backed changes that would allow individual nations to restore controls at their borders. Unfettered travel across Europe, not including Britain or Ireland, was established by the Schengen agreement and has been a signature accomplishment of the EU for 16 years.
But at the closed meeting of ministers on Thursday, 15 states voted for the temporary return, as a last resort and under strict conditions, of border guards to deal with any sudden surge in migration. They also supported reintroduction of guards if an EU state fails to control its frontier with non-EU nations. Only four nations were against, according to diplomats.
French Interior Minister Claude Gueant said: "A very wide consensus, if not near unanimity, was reached on the commission proposals."
The measures will be discussed at an EU summit of prime minsters on June 24 and would also have to pass through the European Parliament where there is likely to be resistance.
Since the Arab Spring both France and Italy, which have faced the brunt of migrants arriving from North Africa in recent weeks, have lobbied intensively for the temporary return of internal borders.
Rome forced the issue by handing temporary residency permits to 20,000 migrants allowing them to travel freely throughout Schengen. France, the likely destination of the mainly French-speaking Tunisian immigrants, responded by temporarily closing a key railway frontier with Italy.
Germany has led demands that it should not be made easier for member states to turn their back on the Schengen. Guido Westerwelle, Germany's foreign minister, said: "I will do everything in my power to ensure there are no steps backward. Freedom to travel is a higher good that we cannot sacrifice for internal political reasons," he said.
All aboard! Destination Berlin!
On the eve of the talks between interior ministers, Denmark announced a sudden decision to restore customs controls at its borders with Sweden and Germany within the next few weeks.
Danish Integration Minister Soren Pind defended the move, saying it was aimed at preventing cross-border crime and drug trafficking, and said the EU needed a frank discussion about the "dark side" of open frontiers.
The European Commission is reviewing the decision and said it would "not hesitate to take action" should it conclude that Denmark breached EU rules.
The EU's external borders have been under strain for some time in Greece, where the debt-stricken government has struggled with an influx of migrants sneaking in from neighbouring Turkey. Guards sent in from other EU states to help manage the frontier.
EU home affairs commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem said: "Very few people so far have come to Europe but enough of course to make us think about how we receive these people and how we deal with this."
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Posted by: Steve White ||
05/13/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11134 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
"Freedom of travel" was hardly ever affected before Schengen. Most of the time you were waved through or you just flashed a personal ID, that's all.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
05/13/2011 0:11 Comments ||
Top||
#2
"EU moves to end passport-free Schengen travel"
What? Are your imaginary unicorn-fart dreams bumping into reality?
Who could have seen that coming?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
05/13/2011 0:11 Comments ||
Top||
#3
You never needed a passport to travel through Europe before Schengen (Western Europe before 1990).
An ID would do. I need an ID to collect mail at the post office. I hardly have a problem showing an ID when crossing a border.
If some EU states refuse to effectively the outer EU border then Schengen cannot work.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
05/13/2011 0:34 Comments ||
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#4
effectively control, of course
Posted by: European Conservative ||
05/13/2011 0:35 Comments ||
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#5
EUro elites ethical flexibility is the wonder of the World.
#6
If some EU states refuse to effectively [guard] the outer EU border then Schengen cannot work.
And in a way this is paralleled by the failure of the Eurozone. Because of the enforced shared responsibility, those at the fringes are deterred from addressing problems in their own house, and are incentivised to pass them on to others. Pretending that members of the group don't think nationally stacks up a whole heap of problems.
#8
No need to be smug here. First airports, now talking about train station, next the TSA will want to put up toll booth style stops on the interstates. Bet on it.
[Asia One] The Greek unemployment rate rose to 15.9 percent in February, official data showed on Thursday the day after a strike and demonstrations against tough measures to reduce the national debt.
Unemployment has been rising since Greece was rescued by the European Union and International Monetary Fund a year ago.
In December 2010, the unemployment rate was 14.8 percent and in January this year 15.1 percent.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
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Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
