Brussels, 27/06/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 24 June, the co-president of the Greens/EFA, Daniel Cohn-Bendit, denounced the decisions made by the EU27 on the recasting of Schengen governance announced for September. This recasting will allow the reintroduction of internal borders between member states of the free circulation area in exceptional circumstances. In a press release, Cohn-Bendit declared: “Not only are EU government leaders sleepwalking the euro to the edge of the cliff, they are also actively dismantling another fundamental element of the EU: the Schengen system. By caving in to French demands to reintroduce border controls, EU governments are undermining a core element of Schengen, no matter how it is dressed up. It will do absolutely nothing to address the core problems that forced migrants to seek refuge in Europe, and it also brushes over the failure to create a functioning EU asylum system. It is a cynical and cowardly step and politicians who are unwilling to deal with the real issues.”
In a press statement on Monday, the leader of the ALDE Group, Guy Verhofstadt, simply refused to give the support of his group to the Council proposal to re-establish such controls in the Schengen area. He said: “What we need is properly applying the Schengen rules, not weakening the system rules by introducing additional exemptions”. He added: “If a concrete proposal was to be drafted by the Commission, one would have to make sure that the proposal ensures that the final decision is in the hands of the Commission (and not the Council)”. He hoped that such an initiative would be based on co-decision. (S.P./transl.fl)