Brussels, 12/03/2012 (Agence Europe) - Hannes Swoboda, S&D Group leader at the European Parliament, said on Monday 12 March that “the latest statement from Sarkozy to possibly put Schengen on a halt clearly shows that Sarkozy feels being on the loser's side already. Nevertheless, such statements by a French president are scandalous, even in times of election campaigns. It is more than regrettable to see how much Sarkozy tries again and again to win votes among the nationalist and anti-European electorate”. According to Swoboda, this could be a “reaction to the low level of success of the 'Merkozy' strategy with the French voters in which Sarkozy plays a minor role”. It is, he said, “unacceptable to play out France against Europe and vice versa”. (LC/transl.jl)