The leader of France’s Front National has called for border controls to be reinstated in Europe. Some internal EU border controls started to be
ADVERTISEMENTThe leader of France’s Front National has called for border controls to be reinstated in Europe.
Some internal EU border controls started to be abolished in 1995.
But Marine Le Pen says it is time to bring them back.
“This massive, uncontrolled immigration, serves and facilitates the work of Islamic fundamentalists, who pour their ideology into a number of french banlieues (suburbs),” she said.
The free travel area is known as the Schengen zone, which allows for passport free movement between 26 European countries.
They also have common asylum rules.
Sophie in ‘t Veld, a Dutch liberal MEP said “we need to defend our democracy and freedom against attacks from terrorists, but we also need to defend our democracy and freedom from the erosion from the inside.”
Borders controls can be reinstated for short periods under EU law on security grounds.
But one German political scientist said that is not the right move.
“There has been talk about suspending the Schengen agreement – of course that should not be done!
“European security services need to cooperate much more intensely, but at the same, fighting jihadism is about very long-term measures, where you explain to these young people, living in the margins of society that jihadism is no solution, and that is has nothing to do with Islam! but it certainly will be a very long-term problem, that will keep Europe busy for decades.”
Both Germany and Italy have already ruled out any permanent scrapping of the Schengen rules.