TIRANA – The President of France, Emanuel Macron, has once again raged at the EU leaders for unilaterally reintroducing temporary internal border checks, warning them that this may be the end of the Schengen Zone.
During a Thursday videoconference on the ongoing coronavirus pandemic with other leaders of the Schengen Member Countries, President Macron warned that the European Union’s key projects, including the no-border zone, could be at danger if the nations fail to show solidarity.
“What’s at stake is the survival of the European project,” Macron told the rest of the leaders, SchengenVisaInfo.com reported on Fridays.
“The risk we are facing is the death of Schengen,” Macron added during the six-hour videoconference of the leaders, in which were discussed the outbreak’s repercussions on the bloc’s economy.
In the 25 years since the Schengen Agreement came into force, the borderless area had never been closer to its suspension.
With the sealing off of the external borders and over 70 per cent of the internal border checks in place, the novel COVID-19 has turned out to be the most significant challenge that the EU has faced regarding its “proudest achievement”, the Schengen Area.
French President Macron has voiced his concerns regarding the reintroduction of border controls within the Schengen Zone since the first countries started undertaking such measures. He was the first of the EU leaders to confirm that the EU and Schengen Borders would close for foreign travelers as a measure to contain the disease.
“All over French territory, in mainland France, as well as overseas, only necessary journeys must remain necessary,” he had announced in a televised address to the nation. “We are in a health war”, he’d said in an attempt highlighting the severity of the situation.
In the guidelines released regarding the seal off of the external border controls, the EU advised member states reintroducing internal border controls, to apply them in an adequate manner and with due regard to the health of the persons concerned.
Currently, the European Commission has a list of only 14 Schengen countries, most of which have fully introduced internal border controls. These are Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Poland, Lithuania, Germany, Estonia, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Belgium, Finland and Denmark.
Albania is not mentioned in the list of the countries which have introduced internal border controls, and there is no information on such a measure. With regard to this situation SchengenVisaInfo.com said that more countries have reintroduced border checks but have failed to notify the European Commission according to the Schengen Border Code, article 28. /argumentum.al
