Games Without Frontiers

#146437Sat 09/04/11 09:42

France Resurrects Border With Italy

Wall Street Journal - April 8, 2011
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704630004576249120727824628.html

VENTIMIGLIA, Italy—The migration wave unleashed by North African unrest has prompted France to resurrect its border with Italy—a barrier that was supposedly consigned to history's dustbin with Europe's unified economy...

Some European Union officials have suggested France has gone too far, because one of the European Union's key principles is the free movement of people inside Europe.

"There are no borders so they can't," said EU Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom when asked about France's crackdown on April 1. Under the EU's Schengen treaty, which was implemented in 1997, "you are not allowed to do checks at the border" unless "there is a serious threat to public security, and for the moment that is not the case," Ms. Malmstrom said.

maguaSat 09/04/11 10:10

"There are no borders so they can't," said EU Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom

Possession is nine tenths of the law.

#146437Sat 09/04/11 10:41

quoting > ""There are no borders so they can't," said EU Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom"

"And you can't do checks at them, unless..."

She added

#146437Sun 17/04/11 21:51

France blocks Italian trains carrying migrants

BBC - April 17, 2011
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13109631

Authorities in France temporarily blocked trains from Italy in an attempt to stop north African migrants from entering the country. Trains were stopped at the border for hours - prompting Italy to launch an official complaint with France. Services were later resumed.

Italy has angered France by giving temporary resident permits to thousands of Tunisian migrants. The permits allow them to travel freely in many European countries. The Italian foreign ministry said the French move was "illegitimate and in clear violation of general European principles".

France has said migrants have to prove they can support themselves financially and has set up patrols on the Italian border.

#146437Fri 13/05/11 06:36

Europe moves to end passport-free travel in migrant row

European interior ministers agree to 'radical revision' of Schengen amid fears of a flood of migrants from north Africa

Thursday 12 May 2011
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/12/europe-to-end-passport-free-travel

European nations moved to reverse decades of unfettered travel across the continent when a majority of EU governments agreed the need to reinstate national passport controls amid fears of a flood of immigrants fleeing the upheaval in north Africa.

In a serious blow to one of the cornerstones of a united, integrated Europe, EU interior ministers embarked on a radical revision of the passport-free travel regime known as the Schengen system to allow the 26 participating governments to restore border controls.

They also agreed to combat immigration by pressing for "readmission accords" with countries in the Middle East and north Africa to send refugees back to where they came from.

The policy shift was pushed by France and Italy, who have been feuding and panicking in recent weeks over a small influx of refugees from Tunisia. But 15 of the 22 EU states which had signed up to Schengen supported the move, with only four resisting, according to officials and diplomats present.

The issue will be discussed at a summit of EU prime ministers and presidents next month. But the "reforms" of the Schengen system also need to go through the European parliament, where there is likely to be strong resistance to empowering national governments to reinstate controls.

#146437Wed 06/07/11 16:08

German minister seeks holiday boycott of Denmark

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2011/0706/1224300157289.html

Denmark dismissed claims yesterday that it had "taken an axe to the European idea" by beefing up customs controls on its borders with Germany and Sweden. The Danish authorities are doubling to 260 the number of customs officers patrolling its border and conducting spot checks on vehicles. The Danes say the move, ostensibly to fight organised crime, human trafficking and the drugs trade, is in line with EU law.

European Commission officials said they were monitoring closely whether the measures met Schengen open borders rules. In Germany, many regional politicians reacted negatively to the Danish decision.

"If Denmark is introducing border controls again during the holiday season, I can only suggest that people turn right around and holiday in Austria or Poland instead," said Jörg-Uwe Hahn, minister for Europe in the state of Hesse, to tabloid newspaper Bild.