French immigration expert says EU must ‘reform not scrap’ troubled Schengen zone
A FRENCH immigration expert said his country would be “shooting itself in the foot” if it chooses to opt out of the EU’s internal border policy.
Professor: France must reform Schengen not leave it
Political scientist Patrick Weil said the Schengen zone could not be blamed for the migrant chaos in Europe and for the heightened terrorist threat.
He urged France not to decide to opt out of it in a bid to stem the tide of migrants and terrorists streaming into France.
Mr Weil said: “The agreement was designed to help keep illegal immigrants out of the EU; and we now have both internal and external border controls.
An immigration expert from France called for the reformation of the Schengen Zone
“What’s more, signatory states no longer have to bear the brunt of mass immigration alone.”
Mr Weil also claimed that because of Schengen the vast majority of paperless migrants “did not manage to enter the EU”.
Political scientist Patrick Weil urged France not to opt out of the EU's internal border policy
The immigration expert further added that France would have to send “scores” of border police to patrol and protect its borders if it pulled out of Schengen.
The agreement was designed to help keep illegal immigrants out of the EU
He said: “France shares a border with eight countries and desperately needs Schengen. Police would simply not be able to cope with the influx of people. It would be like shooting ourselves in the foot, and in the head.”
Mr Weil, however, said that, in order to survive, the controversial agreement “had to be – and could easily be – reformed”.
Pulling out of Schengen would force France to send out scores of border police
The main effect of the Schengen agreement was that citizens of signatory states could travel across borders without passports.
The agreement was signed into EU law in the 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam.
26 nations are currently signed up to the Schengen agreement
There are currently 26 countries in the Schengen area: 22 of these are EU members and four are non-EU member states – Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Iceland and Norway.
The UK and the Republic of Ireland, however, have both opted out of the internal border policy.