Germany and France want to weaken Europe’s border-free travel agreement, according to a Friday newspaper report. Berlin and Paris would like to be able to temporarily reintroduce border controls due to concerns about illegal immigration. The move is not, a Berlin official assures, to be seen as re-election campaign help for Sarkozy.
It was less that one year ago that Denmark decided to reintroduce controls on its borders with Germany and Sweden, a move, Copenhagen said, that was necessary to put a stop to illegal immigration and organized crime. The reactions from Berlin and other European capitals were immediate and unequivocal. The step taken by Copenhagen marked a „bad day for Europe,“ said German Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger. Europe’s border-free travel regime, said the Foreign Ministry in Berlin, „cannot be infringed upon.“
Now, just nine months later, it is Germany itself that is looking to weaken the Schengen Agreement, the treaty signed in 1985 to remove inner-European border controls. According to a report in the Friday edition of daily Süddeutsche Zeitung, Germany and France are seeking to change the treaty to allow for the temporary reintroduction of border controls. (more on spiegel.de)
