EU considers tightening border controls

Cecilia Malmström

EU governments in the passport-free Schengen zone will be able to reimpose border controls temporarily under new European Commission proposals.

The EU's executive arm made the proposal on Wednesday May 4th as part of a review of the Schengen treaty.

EU Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström told reporters in Brussels, "It may also be necessary to foresee the temporary reintroduction of limited internal border controls under very exceptional circumstances."

She stressed that the measure would only be used when "a part of the external borders comes under heavy unexpected pressure." It would mostly apply to countries with external frontiers, however exactly how it would work in reality is not yet clear.

The proposal will be submitted to a special meeting of the EU interior ministers on 12th May and will likely be accepted by EU government leaders at an EU summit on 24th June.

The move reflects concern about the arrival of large numbers of migrants from North Africa in recent months, which has caused tension between Schengen treaty members. Some 25,000 migrants have reached Italy this year.

In early April, Italy granted temporary residence permits to 20,000 Tunisians, allowing them to travel across Europe. Italy's actions angered France, as many of the migrants were expected to move to the country, which already has a large Tunisian population.

France said Italy abused the Schengen pact, while Italy complained that it was not getting enough help from its EU partners. French president Nicolas Sarkozy and Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi called for a revision of Schengen after France stopped trainings carrying migrants from entering Italy.

The Schengen treaty was signed in 1985 to allow free movement of people in 25 countries across Europe. It includes 22 EU states, and three others: Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. The UK and the Republic of Ireland maintain passport controls.

Sources: Al-Jazeera, BBC News, Bloomberg

For more information, please see the Menas Borders website, here.

France blocks Italian train carrying Tunisian migrants

Tunisian migrants at Ventimiglia; Source: LA Times

French authorities temporarily blocked trains from Italy in an attempt to stop Tunisian migrants from entering. Trains departing from the Italian border town of Ventimiglia were stopped on Sunday 17th April.

Italy has seen more than 26,000 mainly Tunisian refugees land on its shores following the turmoil in North Africa. On 5th April, Italy granted temporary resident permits to the majority of the migrants, which allows them free travel within the Schengen zone.

France fears that the majority of the migrants will head to France, its former colonial ruler, which already has a large Tunisian population. It has said that it would grant entry only to those migrants able to support themselves financially. Italy has been angered by other EU countries refusal to help out, given the extraordinary nature of events in North Africa.

The French authorities announced that the trains on Sunday posed a public safety threat, as some 300 protesters had planned to join the migrants on the so-called "train of dignity".

Both sides have claimed they are acting within the confines of the law. Italian interior minister Roberto Maroni was quoted by the BBC, saying, "We have given the migrants travel documents, and we gave everything (else) that is needed, and the European Commission recognised that, it has said that Italy is following the Schengen rules."

Italy said that the blockade was “illegitimate and in clear violation of general European principles” of free movement, and have officially protested to France.

Speaking to the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, Italian foreign minister Franco Frattini said "I realise that every country has its own domestic policy concerns, but the EU requires open borders, and if we start to put up walls the union will go nowhere." He called the closure "shocking".

But French interior minister Claude Gueant said that his government had applied EU law “to the letter”, citing the rule that asylum-seekers are supposed to remain in the country in which they first set foot, until they are accepted or expelled.

The EU has voiced its support for the French authorities' actions. EU Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem said that France had acted within its rights, given that they had cited "public order reasons" to stop and inspect the trains.

EU officials confirmed on Monday 18th April that resident permits are not visas or EU passports and thus do not allow the migrants to travel freely across the Schengen zone, according to Eurasia Review.

The President of the EU Council, Herman Van Rompuy, was quoted in The Independent, warning against the "exaggeration" of the "dangers of mass migration" from North Africa. While neither side had broken the rules of the treaty on the Schengen zone, he said they were both in danger of offending its spirit.

Train service was resumed on Sunday night.

Sources: BBC, Eurasia Review, The Independent, Los Angeles Times

For more information, please see the Menas Borders website, here.

Migrant issues cause tension on France-Italy border

Source: BBC News

Hopes of finding survivors from a capsized boat carrying hundreds of African migrants off the coast of the Italian island of Lampedusa are fading, while tensions increase between France and Italy over the movement of migrants throughout the Schengen area.

The 13m (42ft) boat departed from Zuwara, in western Libya on Monday 8th April, but got into trouble in Maltese waters on Wednesday. Italian rescue ships were alerted because of a lack of appropriate vessels in Malta, according to the Guardian.

Spokesman for the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Jean-Philippe Chauzy said the boat capsized soon after Italian coastguard vessels arrived. "The sea was rough and after people went to one side it began taking in water and sank quickly."

Italian officials say that some 200 people were on board, but the IOM has said that survivors accounts put the number at around 300.

The Italian interior minister, Roberto Maroni, told parliament that 51 people had been picked up by rescue vessels. The survivors are being housed in a reception centre in Lampedusa, the southern Italian island currently dealing with a massive influx of African migrants, fleeing the uncertainty in north Africa.

In February, Italy declared a humanitarian emergency on Lampedusa as the island, with a population of only 5,000, struggled to deal with the arrival of over 4,000 people fleeing Tunisia.

The turmoil in Libya has added even more pressure, and an estimated 26,000 immigrants have arrived on the island since the start of 2011.

Mu'ammar Qadhafi's regime in Libya is said to have been encouraging boatloads of migrants to leave the country since 22nd March, when the first boat left Tripoli.

According to the Telegraph, Libyan armed forces have been turning a blind eye to the thousands of people assembling on the beaches, hoping to secure passage on a boat to Lampedusa.

Qadhafi has long emphasized his role in restricting immigration to Europe. During a visit to Italy last year he said, “Tomorrow Europe might no longer be Europe, and even black as there are millions who want to come in.”

At the start of the coalition's bombing campaign, a spokesman for Qadhafi's regime said that they would not longer stop people trying to enter Europe by boat.

Italy has appealed to its European partners for help, but has said it has been rebuffed by a “total refusal to cooperate” by its neighbours. It has also been trying to negotiate with the home countries of the migrants and on Tuesday 5th April, Italy signed an agreement with Tunisia to try to stem the flow of migrants. Italy promised more than €200 million in aid and credit lines as well as more police cooperation.

Continued uncertainty throughout the region has, however, created a huge wave of migrants, which Italy is no longer happy to deal with on its own. It announced on 7th April that it would grant travel permits to more than 20,000 Tunisian refugees. These three-month permits would allow freedom of movement within the 25-country Schengen area.

Italy's Interior Minister Roberto Maroni acknowledged that this would allow the majority of the migrants to move to France, despite Paris's anger.

French interior minister, Claude Guéant said the country would not tolerate "a wave of immigration" and warned that migrants without appropriate documents and funds would be sent back.

"If these conditions are not met, it is absolutely within France's rights to send them back to Italy," Guéant said.

France, Tunisia's former colonial ruler, is a top destination for the migrants, many of whom already have family or friends settled there. Most speak French and believe their prospects for finding work in France are better than in Italy.

According to Reuters, France is refusing to accept Italy's temporary permits and have been turning back migrants who try to cross the border. A unnamed French diplomat, quoted on Euractiv.com said that there was some doubt in France over the legality of the permits, and that they are considering re-erecting the border with Italy.

The Schengen agreement allows a member country to temporarily re-establish border controls with a neighbouring country in cases of threats to public order.

On 1st April, EU Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström said that it did not appear that France was facing a serious threat to public order, which suggests France's attempts to re-establish border controls would not be accepted. On 7th April, her spokesman, Marcin Grabiec did say, however, that if migrants did not have enough money to fund their stay, they could be sent back to the member state of origin.

Another possible course of action would be the activation of Mechanism 55/2001, which allows for the redistribution of displaced persons among member states. Malta has already requested the activation of the mechanism and Malmström has voiced her support for it. It requires support from the majority of the 27 EU member states, which right now is not achievable.

The mechanism has never been used before, but as the Libya crisis carries on, it is likely to be ever more discussed. Immigrants from Tunisia are considered economic migrants, and so would not be covered by the mechanism, which only applies to displaced persons.

Sources: BBC News, Reuters, Telegraph, Guardian, Euractiv.com, IOM

For more information, please see the Menas Borders website, here.