Collapse of 'Comatose' Schengen Will Wreck Euro, Admits Jean-Claude Juncker

Jean-Claude Juncker

THE TELEGRAPH: Jean-Claude Juncker issues bleakest assessment yet of state of Schengen free-travel zone

The Schengen zone is “partially comatose”, Jean-Claude Juncker conceded on Wednesday, as he warned that its collapse would take down the eurozone.

The single currency cannot survive if the free movement of people granted by the passport-free travel zone ends, the president of the European Commission said, in the starkest warning yet.

Mr Juncker could only watch this summer after state after state reintroduced border controls in a desperate attempt to halt the influx of hundreds of thousands of migrants. The Paris terrorist attacks led France to announce indefinite border checks.

"We have to safeguard the spirit behind Schengen,” Mr Juncker told the European Parliament. “Yes, the Schengen system is partially comatose.” » | Matthew Holehouse, Brussels | Wednesday, November 25, 2015

EU Backs Juncker to Head Commission in Blow to UK

Jean-Claude Juncker is the choice of the European People's Party,
which won the most seats in the European Parliament

BBC: EU leaders in Brussels have nominated former Luxembourg PM Jean-Claude Juncker to be president of the European Commission, in a blow to the UK.

Prime Minister David Cameron called it "a serious mistake". "This is going to be a long, tough fight," he said.

He had pushed for a vote on Mr Juncker - breaking with tradition - and 26 out of 28 countries backed him.

Only Mr Cameron and Hungarian PM Viktor Orban voted against him. Mr Juncker is also likely to win a vote by Euro MPs.

It is the most powerful job in Brussels - the Commission drafts EU laws, oversees national budgets, enforces EU treaties and negotiates international trade deals.

Mr Cameron believes Mr Juncker is too much in favour of closer political union and might block EU reform.

"This is a bad day for Europe... it hands new power to the European Parliament," Mr Cameron said. "This whole process has simply reinforced my conviction that the EU has to change." (+ video) » | Friday, June 27, 2014

Sternstunde Philosophie: Kleines Land, grosser Europäer. EU-Vordenker Jean-Claude Juncker über Europa und die Schweiz
SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN: Jean-Claude Juncker, Ministerpräsident und Finanzminister von Luxemburg, hat viel Einfluss in der EU. Immer wieder setzt er eigene Vorstellungen durch. So zählte er zu den Schöpfern der starken Währung Euro. Mit Härte und Humor vertritt er die Interessen des Bankenplatzes Luxemburg. Im Bedarfsfall zögert er nicht, den mächtigen Franzosen Nicolas Sarkozy zur Ordnung zu rufen. Aber der 53jährige Christlichsoziale ist nicht nur ein mit allen Wassern gewaschener Macher, der als Präsident der Euro-Länder derzeit die internationale Finanzkrise managt. Er ist auch europäischer Nachdenker und Vordenker - und wahrscheinlich der beste, schlagfertigste Redner unter Europas Politikern. Viele sehen in Juncker den künftigen Präsidenten der Europäischen Union; er scheint wie geschaffen für dieses Amt, das der neue EU-Vertrag vorsieht. Roger de Weck befragt Jean-Claude Juncker zu Europa, aber auch zur Schweiz, die in ihrer Europapolitik oft auf den luxemburgischen Partner baut.

Juncker: The Future of Europe, Van Rompuy, Greece's Economic Situation, and the UK Joining the Euro