23/05/2022 (Agence Europe) – On 18 May, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) adopted an opinion on the Schengen area under reform, drawing in particular on the lessons of the war in Ukraine and the influx of refugees, which show that there is an “urgent need for effective, genuine, humane - and humanitarian - common European regulations in an open, but equally secure Schengen area”. Arguing “that any closure of borders between Schengen countries should only be temporary”, the EESC says that “Member States’ security concerns would be better addressed by increasing and strengthening cooperation and coordination between law enforcement agencies than by reintroducing internal border controls”. The Committee also recalls the duty of Member States to respect fundamental rights and non-pushback at all times. Link to the opinion: https://aeur.eu/f/1rz (SP)