Following an influx of immigrants, France and Italy are pushing the European Commission to allow member states to temporarily reintroduce border controls in the Schengen area.
The Commission is looking into a possible reform and has said the “temporary reintroduction” of limited border controls could sometimes be necessary and permitted “under very exceptional circumstances, such as where a part of the external border comes under heavy unexpected pressure”.
EU Commissioner Cecilia Malmström remains adamant, however, the Schengen Agreement must be safeguarded at all times. “Schengen, as an area without border controls, is a major achievement, which gives EU citizen the possibility to travel in Europe in a way that was not possible before. It has also a big and positive impact on the EU economy – for example export and import transports, that otherwise would be stuck in border controls for hours, move freely.”
John Ridler, media and PR manager Thompsons Holidays, says the reintroduction of borders in the Schengen area could lead to some disruptions for travellers. “A number of Europe countries are considering putting up new borders to control the latest wave of refugees from the Middle East conflicts. If implemented, this will certainly impact on the time taken to obtain additional visas and inevitably on costs, which will deter passengers. This reinforces the old opinion that visas are designed (not always successfully) to keep out the bad guys and at the same time to annoy and inconvenience the good guys.”
EU leaders are expected to discuss migration and asylum policies at a Brussels summit on June 24.
What are your thoughts on this? Send us your comments by replying to the editor.
Europe to reintroduce border controls?
Comments | 0
