Article Image

IPFS News Link • European Union

EU Ready To Restrict Passport-Free Travel, Austria To Close Border

• http://www.zerohedge.com

The writing has been on the wall for quite a while and indeed it was just three days ago when we reported that the EU was mulling a two-year Schengen suspension amid the wave of Mid-East asylum seekers streaming into Western Europe, but now it looks to be official.

Or at least semi-official.

According to AP, who cites documents, the EU is set to restrict passport-free travel and allow member countries to "unilaterally put up border controls."

EU SAID POISED TO RESTRICT PASSPORT-FREE TRAVEL

Here's the story

Documents seen by The Associated Press show that European Union countries are poised to restrict passport-free travel by invoking an emergency rule for two years due to the migration crisis.

Each of the 26 countries in the open-travel Schengen Area is allowed to unilaterally put up border controls for a maximum of six months. That limit can be extended for up to two years if a member nation is found to be failing to protect its borders.

The documents show that EU policymakers are poised to declare that Greece is failing to sufficiently protect its border. Some 2,000 people are still arriving daily on Greek islands in smugglers' boats from Turkey.

A European official showed the documents to the AP on condition of anonymity because the documents are confidential.