The European dream of a continent without borders appeared dead last night.A majority of EU countries voted to reimpose passport controls between countries – in response to fears they would be deluged by refugees from the revolutions in the Arab world.
Fifteen out of the 22 EU countries who currently operate the Schengen Agreement said they would be in favour of its demise at a meeting of home affairs ministers in Brussels.
The treaty, signed in 1985 in the Dutch town of Schengen, created a European area with no internal borders which covers more than 400million people in most EU countries, as well as four others outside the bloc – Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland.
Of the EU’s 27 members, 22 operate it. Britain and Ireland have opted out, while Romania, Bulgaria and Cyprus are preparing to implement it.
The UK is not part of the system, but it could benefit from its end because the reimposition of passport controls could make it harder for illegal immigrants to find their way through Europe towards their final destination – Britain.
Tory backbencher Philip Hollobone said: ‘It looks like the European dream of a continent without borders is going backwards.
‘This is a good thing – it makes more sense to reinstate national borders so we can properly control immigration and organised crime.
‘And it means it should be much harder for illegal immigrants to get as far as Calais.’
At a meeting in Brussels on Wednesday, interior ministers agreed to a ‘radical revision’ of Schengen. Read More
