From "Open Europe"
Nicolas Sarkozy and Silvio Berlusconi will meet today to discuss revising the Schengen Treaty in light of recent tensions over immigration. Italy's Foreign Minister, Franco Frattini, has said that Italy will accept a review of Schengen, in return for extra EU funds to help it deal with migrants, reports the Telegraph. The revised agreement is expected to propose that border controls can be reinstated between EU member states in exceptional circumstances when external EU borders have been breached. Italian daily La Stampa reports that the joint proposal could also call for a burden sharing agreement with a redistribution of migrants.
French Europe Minister Laurent Wauquiez is quoted in the Journal du Dimanche saying, "Europe is not the free movement of illegal immigrants". The Italian authorities are reportedly accused of buying train tickets for migrants issued with temporary visit permits and encouraging them to travel to France, reports the Telegraph. On his BBC blog, Europe Editor Gavin Hewitt notes, “The real tension here is that EU principles are increasingly seen as at odds with economic reality and the wishes of a majority of the people. Appeals to solidarity do not sit well with the voters. The dilemma is similar to that of the bail-outs. In order to keep the euro together Brussels is supporting policies that alienate many voters”.
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