Schengen CRUMBLES: EU 'to bring back borders AND passport checks between countries'
BORDER checks could be reimposed between European Union countries under proposals expected to be put to ministers in Brussels today.
Border checks could be reimposed between European Union countries
The proposal to suspend the 26-country Schengen passport-free travel zone is driven by the crisis of hundreds of thousands of people fleeing Syria, Afghanistan and other countries to Europe via Greece and Italy this year.
The mass arrivals have sparked fears about the wisdom of letting people move freely around key EU countries with no document checks after inadequate initial assessments of their origins and motives for being in Europe.
Suspending Schengen - which the UK has never been part of - is the most drastic emergency measure its members can consider.
There are 26 European countries in the Schengen zone
German police check rail passengers' passports on a train that arrived from Hungary
A leaked document suggested Luxembourg, which is currently president of the European Union, was preparing to put it to EU home affairs ministers meeting today.
In effect, approval by the European Commission would enable emergency temporary border checks introduced this summer to curb migrant flows between countries such as Austria and Germany to be made long-term and more stringent.
Greece has reacted angrily to a suggestion it could be kicked out of the Schengen zone amid, concern about the thousands of migrants landing on its shores surging on towards other EU countries uncontrolled by the struggling Athens government which has refused EU help to cope and calls to improve its refugee registration system.
Approval by the European Commission would allow more stringent border checks within Europe
We reject mini-Schengens and we want to focus on the protection of external borders
Although Greece has no land borders with other Schengen countries, reimposing passport checks would inconvenience Greek air passengers.
Yesterday the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland - the so-called V4 - rejected suggestions from the Netherlands about shrinking the Schengen zone to limit passport-free travel to a smaller number of core EU countries.
"We reject mini-Schengens and we want to focus on the protection of external borders," said Czech PM Bohuslav Sobotka.
Experts say using the Schengen-wide suspension clause would have the advantage of enabling quick action, rather than targeting one country for expulsion which would take months of wrangling.