Nicolas Sarkozy Calls for End of Europe's Visa-free Schengen Area

Nicolas Sarkozy

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Former French president calls for more exclusive "Schengen II" and the return of powers to national governments from Brussels

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has called for the end of Europe's visa-free Schengen area in order to protect the country's ailing social system.

Writing in an opinion piece in Le Point magazine on Thursday, Mr Sarkozy also called for powers to be handed back to national governments from Brussels. » | Andrew Marszal, and AFP | Thursday, May 22, 2014

EXCLUSIF. Sarkozy au "Point" : "Nous devons être européens et français" »

Schengen-Reform: Grenzkontrollen bis zu zwei Jahre lang
DIE PRESSE: Durch einen Notfallmechanismus können künftig Grenzkontrollen im Schengen-Raum für bis zu zwei Jahre wieder eingeführt werden.

Die EU-Innenminister haben sich auf eine Reform des grenzkontrollfreien Schengen-Raums geeinigt. Sie beschlossen bei einem Treffen am Donnerstag in Luxemburg einen Notfallmechanismus, der im Fall von außergewöhnlichen Umständen und als Ultima Ratio die Wiedereinführung von Grenzkontrollen bis zu zwei Jahren ermöglicht. Innenministerin Johanna Mikl-Leitner (ÖVP) schloss nicht aus, dass der Mechanismus im Fall Griechenlands zur Anwendung gelangen könnte "wenn die innere Sicherheit in Gefahr ist", betonte aber auch, dass "derzeit keine Veranlassung dazu bestehe". » | APA | Donnerstag, 07. Juni 2012

Berlin und Paris wollen Kontrolle über Grenzen behalten

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Illegale Einwanderung: Deutschland und Frankreich drohen mit Grenzkontrollen
DER TAGESSPIEGEL: Im Kampf gegen illegale Einwanderung fordern Deutschlands Innenminister Friedrich und sein französischer Kollege eine Änderung des Schengen-Abkommens: Falls die Außengrenzen im Süden und Osten Europas nicht ausreichend gesichert werden, sollen eigene Kontrollen die Landesgrenzen abriegeln. » | Freitag, 20. April 2012

France Election 2012: Nicolas Sarkozy Threatens to Pull France Out of Schengen Zone

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Nicolas Sarkozy threatened to pull France out of Europe's passport-free zone on Sunday unless the EU tightened its borders against illegal immigration in a "make or break" campaign rally before 60,000 supporters outside Paris.

His call came as the French centre-Right threw its full firepower behind their candidate in Villepinte, near Charles de Gaulle airport, in a huge, glitzy show of force designed to breath new life into his flagging campaign.

Hailed like a prizefighter, Mr Sarkozy climbed the huge white stage to the strains of his campaign anthem and an amended slogan: "Strong France with You".

Actor Gérard Depardieu lent some star power to proceedings, along with Mr Sarkozy's wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy and her predecessor as First Lady, Bernadette Chirac.

Days after telling France that he would give up politics if he lost the forthcoming elections, Mr Sarkozy told supporters "I have lost none of my desire to act" before launching into a series of protectionist proposals for France and Europe.

These included suspending France's participation in the Schengen visa-free zone signed by all 27 EU states bar Britain and Ireland if its rules were not revised to fight illegal immigration in the coming 12 months.

France would stay out of Schengen "until negotiations conclude," he said.

Since his official campaign launch three weeks ago, Mr Sarkozy has veered Right in a bid to capture the far-Right National Front vote, last week saying there were "too many foreigners in France" and promising to half [sic] the influx of migrants.

On Sunday, he said France would not leave policing Europe's borders to European "technocrats". » | Henry Samuel | Paris | Sunday, March 11, 2012


leJDD.fr: Bernadette Chirac en vedette américaine à Villepinte » | Vivien Vergnaud - leJDD.fr | dimanche 11 mars 2012

Schengen-Raum: Neues Visa-System in der EU
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE: Die EU versucht, die illegale Einreise nach Europa zu erschweren: Seit Dienstag haben alle 25 Mitgliedstaaten des Schengen-Raums Zugriff auf eine zentrale Datenbank der Visa-Antragsteller, in der erstmals auch Fingerabdrücke gespeichert werden.

Die EU hat am Dienstag ein neues Visa-System für den Schengen-Raum in Betrieb genommen, das die illegale Einreise nach Europa erschweren soll. Über eine zentrale Datenbank, in der erstmals auch Fingerabdrücke gespeichert werden, hat nun jeder der 25 Mitgliedstaaten des Schengen-Raums Zugriff auf die Daten aller Antragsteller. Das System läuft zunächst in den europäischen Konsulaten in Ägypten, Algerien, Libyen, Mauretanien, Marokko und Tunesien, soll aber in den nächsten zwei Jahren auf alle 2500 Konsulate der Schengenstaaten in aller Welt ausgedehnt werden. Als nächstes wird es in Nahost und danach am Golf in Betrieb gehen. » | Von NIKOLAS BUSSE, BRÜSSEL | Dienstag 11. Oktober 2011

Dänemark schafft die Grenzkontrollen wieder ab
WELT ONLINE: Die neue dänische Ministerpräsidentin Thorning-Schmidt kündigt ein Ende der Grenzkontrollen an. Bundesaußenminister Westerwelle begrüßt die Entscheidung.

Die neue dänische Ministerpräsidentin Helle Thorning-Schmidt hat ein Ende der von ihrem Vorgänger eingeführten Grenzkontrollen angekündigt. Die verschärften Maßnahmen an allen Übergängen nach Deutschland und Schweden werde es künftig nicht mehr geben, sagte die sozialdemokratische Politikerin nach der Vorstellung ihres neuen Kabinetts. » | dapd/dpa/smb | Dienstag 04. Oktober 2011

Schengen Tightens Up

Denmark Tightens Border Controls
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Denmark has tightened its border controls in a move which opponents claim could sound the death knell for the EU’s principle of free movement.

The Scandinavian country deployed an extra 50 customs officers at crossings on the German and Swedish borders in an attempt to curb cross-border crime and illegal immigration.

This figure will rise to 98 by the end of the year.

Denmark, which belongs to the EU’s passport-free Schengen zone, also plans to increase video surveillance at crossings and build four new customs houses.

Denmark’s decision to become the first country to break ranks with its Schengen peers has sparked concern for the future of unrestricted travel between EU countries.

The principle of open borders is already threatened by political pressures created by the influx of refugees fleeing the turmoil in North Africa. » | Matthew Day | Tuesday, July 05, 2011

Denmark's Defiance over Frontier Controls Has Left European Union Bordering on Crisis
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Will Denmark reinstating border controls help to stop crime, or will it be a first stop on the road to dismantling the EU?

For 50 years as he kept watch over Denmark's border with Germany, Carl Jorgensen knew all about frontier problems. The former border guard tracked down drug dealers with his sniffer dog, cycled every inch of the boundary, and stopped hundreds of trouble-makers from entering his country with dubious intentions.

But the latest struggle for control over Denmark's frontier is not being waged on these flat farmlands of northern Europe, which Mr Jorgensen and his fellow border guards once policed.

Instead, it is being fought in the offices and chambers of Brussels, asDenmark takes on the European Union in a bitter row over the right to police its borders.

Last week Denmark announced that it was resuming checks along its frontiers with Germany and Sweden - having suspended them in 2001 when it joined the Schengen agreement, which allows passport-free travel throughout 22 of the EU's 27 member states, plus four others.

The Danish government says the resumption of border checks is needed to help prevent cross-border crime, illegal immigration and drug trafficking. Soren Pind, Denmark's integration minister, said that the EU needed a frank discussion about the "dark side" of open frontiers.

Copenhagen warned that, within the next three weeks, it will rebuild border stations; employ more customs officials; begin extensive video surveillance of cars crossing Danish borders; and make rapid police assistance available if the customs officers need them.

"We are trying our best to take measures that will secure the best aspects of freedom of movement, and at the same time, not let criminal activity pass through freely," said Mr Pind. » | Harriet Alexander, Tonder, southern Denmark | Sunday, May 15, 2011

Europe Moves to End Passport-free Travel in Migrant Row
THE GUARDIAN: European interior ministers agree to 'radical revision' of Schengen amid fears of a flood of migrants from north Africa

European nations moved to reverse decades of unfettered travel across the continent when a majority of EU governments agreed the need to reinstate national passport controls amid fears of a flood of immigrants fleeing the upheaval in north Africa.

In a serious blow to one of the cornerstones of a united, integrated Europe, EU interior ministers embarked on a radical revision of the passport-free travel regime known as the Schengen system to allow the 26 participating governments to restore border controls.

They also agreed to combat immigration by pressing for "readmission accords" with countries in the Middle East and north Africa to send refugees back to where they came from. » | Ian Traynor | Thursday, May 12, 2011

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THE GUARDIAN: EU warns Denmark over border controls: José Manuel Barroso says he doubts whether Denmark is complying with European and international law » | Ian Traynor in Brussels | Friday May 13, 2011

EU Considers Reinstating National Border Controls
THE GUARDIAN: In response to intense pressure from France and Italy, European Commission to unveil new proposals on Wednesday

Brussels said on Sunday that national passport controls might be reintroduced across Europe to allow the "temporary" re-erection of borders between 25 countries.

Responding to intense pressure from Italy and France to tighten the no-borders system known as the Schengen regime, José Manuel Barroso, the president of the European commission, said he was looking at ways of satisfying the two countries' concerns. Paris and Rome are alarmed at an influx of migrants fleeing revolutionary north Africa.

In a letter to French president Nicolas Sarkozy and Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, Barroso said that the commission would unveil new proposals on Wednesday on immigration policy, common European asylum procedures, and reform of the Schengen system.

The commission's proposals are to go to a summit of EU leaders next month, with France and Italy leading the charge for a partial renationalisation of border controls, a trend the commission would like to resist but looks too weak to counter.

The Franco-Italian push to place greater restrictions on the Schengen regime, launched last week after a furious row between Paris and Rome over refugees from Tunisia, has already won support from a handful of other EU countries, including Germany. » | Ian Traynor in Brussels | Sunday, May 01, 2011

Sarkozy and Berlusconi Find a Common Cause: Keep Immigrants Out
THE INDEPENDENT: Rules on free movement within Europe in doubt after crisis caused by influx of refugees from North African unrest

The leaders of France and Italy yesterday called for an overhaul of the system of passport-free travel across 25 European nations following alarm in Paris over the effect of a wave of migrants fleeing conflict in North Africa.

The Italian premier, Silvio Berlusconi, and French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, said they wanted new border restrictions in a notable watering down of the aims of the 1995 Schengen deal for free movement of people across most of continental Europe.

The pair issued their demand at a summit in Rome designed to repair relations between the two countries that had been damaged by the dispute over the fate of many of the 28,000 people who have fled political turmoil in North Africa. Most of those landed first on the Italian island of Lampedusa, creating a humanitarian and political crisis that the Italian authorities attempted to solve by diverting many to France, prompting a furious response from its north-western neighbour. Mr Berlusconi yesterday acknowledged the greater burden faced by France after the exodus triggered by the revolt in Tunisia, the first nation to topple its leader in the wave of unrest sweeping the Arab world. In another sop to France, Italy hours earlier also agreed to play a role in bombing Gaddafi forces in the French-inspired Libyan campaign.

The leaders detailed their demands in a joint letter to the EU, and said they were working on proposals to change Schengen. Both Mr Berlusconi and Mr Sarkozy – who faces a presidential election in a year's time – are under pressure from right-wing parties to adopt a tough line on immigration.

"We want Schengen to survive, but to survive Schengen must be reformed," Mr Sarkozy told reporters after the meeting. "We believe in free circulation but we believe in a state of law and a certain number of rules." » | Michael Day | Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Immigration: France and Italy to Propose European Border Reform
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: France and Italy will on Tuesday present Brussels with an ultimatum to tear up the free travel European border rules that has been the EU's signature accomplishment for 16 years.

Nicolas Sarkozy is holding emergency talks in Rome with Silvio Berlusconi after a row over Tunisian refugees threatened to spiral out of control and lead to the reintroduction of French border controls.

The Italian prime minister called the meeting after his decision to give more than 25,000 Tunisian refugees residence permits caused the worst border crisis since the EU's 1995 Schengen Treaty.

The French president, who will face a challenge from the anti-immigrant far-Right during elections next year, has responded furiously and criticised "flawed" EU rules that have let the migrants into France. The French sparked a major diplomatic incident last week after closing the rail border with Italy at Ventimiglia, citing risks of disturbances to public order to refuse entry to trains carrying Tunisian migrants.

France has accused Italy of violating the EU's "Schengen" free movement rules by giving the Arab migrants, who are mainly French-speaking, permits and encouraging them to travel to France.

Periodic border checks with Italy have been reinstated and several hundred Tunisians, bearing the residence permits, have been sent back to Italy. » | Bruno Waterfield, Brussels | Monday, April 25, 2011

Polémique Schengen : des Tunisiens de Lampedusa sont en France
LE POINT: La plupart des migrants bloqués depuis des semaines à la frontière française peuvent désormais la franchir. Rencontre avec l'un d'entre eux.

Le rendez-vous est pris dans l'arrière-cour d'un bar miteux de Villeurbanne, aux portes de Lyon. "Pas de photo", demande-t-il d'emblée, une cigarette à la bouche, en se retournant pour vérifier que personne ne nous suit. Naofel préfère rester discret. Mais une fois à l'abri des regards, son visage s'illumine. "Je suis content", lâche-t-il en soupirant, un immense sourire aux lèvres.

C'est vrai qu'il est transfiguré depuis le parvis de cette gare de Vintimille, à la frontière italienne, où nous l'avions rencontré en début de semaine. Il était alors l'un de ces milliers de Tunisiens qui avaient fui leur pays après la chute de Ben Ali. Bloqué, comme tous les autres, à quelques kilomètres de l'eldorado français. Mais aujourd'hui tout cela appartient au passé. Après plusieurs jours de blocage de la part des autorités françaises, qui refusaient de reconnaître le permis de séjour délivré par les autorités italiennes comme suffisant pour circuler à travers l'espace Schengen, Naofel a réussi à passer en France. En toute légalité. S'il se cache, c'est que son titre de séjour ne lui donne pas le droit de travailler sur le territoire français. Mais il est bien la preuve que la frontière est désormais bel et bien ouverte aux migrants venus de Tunisie via l'Italie. » | D’envoyé spécial du Point à Lyon, Cyriel Martin | Dimanche 24, 2011

France Threatens to 'Suspend' Schengen Treaty
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: France has threatened to abandon European Union freedom of movement by “suspending” Europe’s Schengen Treaty due to an influx of Tunisian and Libyan migrants from Italy.

Italy has given up to 26,000 illegal migrants six-month residence permits, allowing them to travel freely in the border-free Schengen zone, which covers all EU countries except Britain and Ireland.

The decision to issue travel documents to the Tunisians and other Arab migrants has triggered a French warning over the 1995 treaty.

''It seems to us that we need to think about a mechanism that would allow us, when there is a systematic disruption at one of the EU’s external borders, to intervene with a temporary suspension for as long as the disruption lasts,” said an Elysée source. » | Bruno Waterfield, Brussels | Friday, April 22, 2011

Europe Shuts Its Eyes to the Migrant Challenge
THE INDEPENDENT – LEADING ARTICLE: Europe is engaged in a repellent exercise in hand-washing over the fate of migrants fleeing North Africa. For six hours on Sunday, the French authorities blocked trains containing Tunisian refugees from crossing the Italian border. This was disgraceful behaviour from France and a blatant breach of the Schengen agreement, which guarantees free movement across continental Europe.

But Italy's conduct has been just as bad. The Italian government, desperate to see the 25,000 or so migrants who have arrived in the country from North Africa in recent months move on, has issued thousands of temporary residency permits, which allow the recipients to travel freely across Europe. They know that many of the refugees from Tunisia have relatives in the former colonial power, France, and will head in that direction given an opportunity. Both nations want to make these migrants someone else's problem.

What makes all this especially reprehensible is that France and Italy each bear a large measure of responsibility for the chaos in North Africa. The Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, got very close to the Libyan dictator, Muammar Gaddafi, who has since turned viciously on his own people.

France was similarly friendly with the Tunisian regime of Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali before it imploded, setting off a succession of Arab uprisings. If France and Italy had not supported repressive regimes in North Africa for so long, it is possible this crisis would never have reached such proportions. » | Leading article | Tuesday, April 19, 2011

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Germany Threatens to Reintroduce Border Checks in Row over Tunisian Refugees
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Germany has threatened to reinstate border checks "against the interests" of the EU's free movement zone in an escalating row with Italy over Tunisian refugees.

Italy has promised to give over 20,000 Tunisian refugees temporary visas allowing them to travel freely in the border-free Schengen zone, which covers all EU countries except Britain and Ireland.

Over 26,000 illegal migrants have reached Italy by boat through the small Mediterranean island of Lampedusa, which is close to Tunisia. The Italian authorities have insisted other European countries must help take the burden.

Italy said last week that it would give six-month residence permits to all the migrants who have arrived since the beginning of the year.

Franco Frattini, the Italian foreign minister, said: "Thousands, tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of migrants could come from Tunisia. It's a purely European affair."

But during bad-tempered European talks on Monday, Germany warned Italy that it will not accept the migrants and that Berlin will tear up the EU's border-free travel arrangements to stop them. » | Bruno Waterfield, Brussels | Monday, April 11, 2011

hier und hier

Libya to Unleash Wave of Migrants on Europe
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Libya is unleashing a wave of migrants against Europe as retaliation for the coalition's military strikes against the country.

The opening of immigration floodgates came as Italy announced that it would grant travel permits to more than 20,000 Tunisian refugees who have reached its southernmost islands in recent weeks.

The Italian government said the temporary permits would grant the refugees freedom of movement within the visa-free Schengen area, but in reality most want to head to France.

Paris reacted angrily to the move, with Claude Gueant, the interior minister, saying the country would not tolerate "a wave of immigration" and warning that migrants without appropriate identity documents and sufficient funds would be prevented from entering.

The Schengen zone excludes Britain and Ireland, but migrants could attempt to enter the UK illegally from the Continent.

The Tunisians are among nearly 26,000 migrants who have managed to reach the tiny island of Lampedusa, Italy's southernmost territory, since January, when president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was toppled by a popular revolt.

In neighbouring Libya, Col. Muammar Gadaffi's regime is alleged to have been actively encouraging boatloads of migrants to leave the country's shores since March 22, when the first vessel sailed from Tajoura, a suburb of Tripoli. » | Nick Squires, Rome and Damien McElroy in Valletta | Thursday, April 07, 2011

La France ne veut pas des migrants de Tunisie
LE POINT: Paris a rappelé à ses préfets les conditions d'accueil des migrants. Un reproche à peine caché aux autorités italiennes.

Le ministère de l'Intérieur a rappelé, dans une circulaire aux préfets mercredi, les conditions d'accueil des immigrés passés par un pays de l'espace Schengen, au moment où des dizaines de clandestins tunisiens venus d'Italie sont interceptés chaque jour en France. Alors que Rome reproche à la France de lui renvoyer ces clandestins, cette circulaire énumère les conditions de séjour des ressortissants issus "d'un pays tiers" et "en provenance du territoire d'un autre État membre de l'espace Schengen". » | Le Point.fr | Vendredi 08 Avril 2011

LE FIGARO: Lampedusa : une circulaire contre les flux migratoires » | Par Jean-Marc Leclerc | Jeudi 07 Avril 2011

Libya Claims Victory in Swiss Row After Visa Ban on Officials Lifted
THE GUARDIAN: Tripoli reciprocates by ending entry restrictions on members of Schengen nations

Gaddafi addressing the United Nations last year. He urged the body to abolish Switzerland and divide it between Germany, France and Italy. Photograph: The Guardian
Libya has claimed victory after Switzerland today dropped a visa ban on senior members of Muammar Gaddafi's regime as part of a long-running row between the two countries.

The foreign ministry in Tripoli said it was ending entry restrictions on members of Europe's Schengen passport-free zone after the Spanish EU presidency declared an end to the exclusion of 188 Libyan officials, including Gaddafi.

But Libya's foreign minister, Musa Kusa, said that the crisis was not over. "We demand international arbitration and we will accept any outcome, positive or negative," he said.

The visa spat ended after the Spanish foreign minister, Miguel Ángel Moratinos, arrived for talks in the Libyan town of Sirte, where Gaddafi was hosting an Arab League summit. Italy's Silvio Berlusconi was one of the foreign guests and reportedly stopped to kiss the Libyan leader's hand.

It took weeks of intense diplomatic activity to end the row and ease pressure on economic ties between the EU and Libya, with Italy – increasingly dependent on Libyan energy supplies – pressing hard for a solution. The Swiss visa ban was legally binding on Italy and all 25 Schengen members, including 22 EU countries as well as Switzerland, Iceland and Norway. >>> Ian Black, Middle East editor | Sunday, March 28, 2010