Al Jazeera News :
European Union (EU) countries are poised to restrict passport-free travel by invoking an emergency rule to control borders as the refugee crisis continues, according to EU documents seen by The Associated Press.
The rule would be in place for at least two years, the news agency said on Friday, and would reverse a decades-old trend of expanding passport-free travel in Europe.
The news came as EU member states gave Greece a three-month ultimatum to remedy “deficiencies” in controlling the refugee flow or face border controls with the rest of the Schengen passport-free zone, EU sources said, also on Friday.
The EU told Greece “that given the scale of the situation, further efforts are needed”.
Since 1995, people have been able to cross borders among Schengen Area member countries without document checks. Each of the current 26 countries in the Schengen Area is allowed to unilaterally put up border controls for a maximum of six months, but that time limit can be extended for up to two years if a member is found to be failing to protect its borders. The documents show that EU policy makers are preparing to
make unprecedented use of that provision by declaring that Greece is failing to sufficiently protect its border.
Some 2,000 people a day are still arriving daily on Greek islands from Turkey, most of them keen to move to countries including Germany and Sweden. In the 43 days of 2016 so far, at least 410 refugees have died on the way to Europe. Greek government officials declined to comment on the documents.
European Union (EU) countries are poised to restrict passport-free travel by invoking an emergency rule to control borders as the refugee crisis continues, according to EU documents seen by The Associated Press.
The rule would be in place for at least two years, the news agency said on Friday, and would reverse a decades-old trend of expanding passport-free travel in Europe.
The news came as EU member states gave Greece a three-month ultimatum to remedy “deficiencies” in controlling the refugee flow or face border controls with the rest of the Schengen passport-free zone, EU sources said, also on Friday.
The EU told Greece “that given the scale of the situation, further efforts are needed”.
Since 1995, people have been able to cross borders among Schengen Area member countries without document checks. Each of the current 26 countries in the Schengen Area is allowed to unilaterally put up border controls for a maximum of six months, but that time limit can be extended for up to two years if a member is found to be failing to protect its borders. The documents show that EU policy makers are preparing to
make unprecedented use of that provision by declaring that Greece is failing to sufficiently protect its border.
Some 2,000 people a day are still arriving daily on Greek islands from Turkey, most of them keen to move to countries including Germany and Sweden. In the 43 days of 2016 so far, at least 410 refugees have died on the way to Europe. Greek government officials declined to comment on the documents.
