EU - French Schengen busting is “legal”

Published on 19 April 2011 at 10:05

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"EU supports French blockade of refugees," headlines La Vanguardia, explaining that "the temporary closure of a border between two EU countries is perfectly legal." In a cautious declaration in Brussels, Commissioner for Internal Affairs Cecilia Malmström pointed out that France "apparently had the right" to close its border with Italy on Sunday 17 April to halt an Italian train carrying Tunisian immigrants — a declaration that will be viewed as "an accolade" for the French government and "an affront" to the Italians, remarks La Vanguardia. The immigration crisis "has prompted tensions between Paris and Rome" and "drawn attention to the absence of a common European policy," notes the daily, which argues that Rome’s initiative to legalise the refugees’ status was "a response to European inaction."

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