Will the Schengen rules be changed?
The European Commission has convened in Brussels the representatives of Denmark, Sweden and Germany, with the declared aim of getting a better coordination among the three countries, which have successively reintroduced controls on their common borders, i
Bogdan Matei, 06.01.2016, 13:44
The euphoria with which the West has hailed the “Arab spring not long ago, turned sour in autumn and winter, bringing anguish right to the heart of Europe. The 130 victims of the Jihadist attacks in Paris, the high terror alert in Brussels, a city, which looked deserted for almost a week, the New Years Eve Party which was marked by street mugging and sexual group assaults against women in the German city of Cologne are all illustrative of Europes weaknesses in front of barbaric acts.
Furthermore, the lack of a solution to the refugee crisis is again placing under a question mark free movement in the Schengen area, that is one of the fundamental principles of the European construction. The Danish government made public its decision to temporarily introduce controls on the border with Germany just hours after Sweden had taken similar measures on the border with Denmark.
The decision was made public by Danish Prime Minister, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, who warned that, if the European Union cant protect its border, several countries will be forced to introduce border controls. He explained that, following the restrictions imposed by Sweden, Denmark might face a severe risk for its public order and internal security, because a very large number of illegal migrants might get stuck in Copenhagen. In turn, the Stockholm authorities say they make efforts to reduce the number of refugees who cross the border into Sweden. No less than 160,000 asylum seekers were registered in Sweden in 2015 alone.
The two Scandinavian kingdoms are the last Schengen member states to introduce border controls. In September 2015, Germany imposed restrictions on the border with Austria, and last week Norway, which is a non-EU but a Schengen member state, announced that all people without visas will be returned from the border. Such controls, which have been reintroduced in an uncoordinated manner, might cast doubt on the future of free movement in the Schengen area, EU officials warn in Brussels. The spokesperson for the European Commission, Margaritis Schinas, has admitted that Brussels hasnt found solutions to the deepening migrant crisis yet.
He said that Schengen is a reality and is now under pressure, but the EU officials are working with the member states, within the framework of the Schengen rules to bring the situation back to normal. Margaritis Schinas said there are no miracle-working recipes to get back to normalcy, but the security on EUs external borders should be tightened and cooperation should be boosted with both the migrants countries of origin and with other countries affected by the scourge. “It is a complex equation, Margaritis Schinas went on to say.
Radio Romanias correspondent to Brussels says that as early as December, EU officials said they wanted to avoid a domino-like effect produced by the introduction of controls on internal borders in the Schengen area, in order to maintain the main fundament of free movement. The European citizens are still waiting for solutions.
