OEM Energy Drink Production - Beverage ProductionFrance and Italy call for changes to Schengen treaty to resolve migrant crisis

[News_Editor]

All You need for your Beverage Business France and Italy call for changes to Schengen treaty to resolve migrant crisis

2011-04-26 21:24:48 GMT+7 (ICT)

ROME, ITALY (BNO NEWS) -- France and Italy on Tuesday called for changes to the Schengen Treaty in order to resolve the flux of illegal migrants from Northern Africa, the ANSA news agency reported.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi met in Rome for a bilateral summit with French President Nicolas Sarkozy. The two leaders also signed a joint letter to the European Commission asking for a temporary reinstatement of state borders in certain cases.

The Schengen Treaty established a borderless zone between the 25 countries of the European Union. The accord affects an estimated 400 million people. The joint letter also demanded more support from EU's border agency Frontex.

"The migration situation in the Mediterranean could rapidly be transformed into a real crisis that could undermine the faith our citizens have entrusted in free movement," the leaders' joint letter read.

Since the beginning of February, the Italian island of Lampedusa has been overwhelmed by the arrival of more than 25,000 migrants. The majority of them are Tunisian coming from the Tunisian port of Zarzis, Djerba and Sfax.

"We want to see the Schengen Treaty survive, so in order to do that it must be amended," said French President Sarkozy.

France and Italy had tensions over the illegal immigration crisis after the French government decided to close its borders to the North African asylum seekers. Last week, Sarkozy's country decided to stop Italian trains carrying Tunisian migrants from entering its soil.

In the beginning, Italy criticized France's action but this week the two governments agreed that the proper response to the migrant issue should be less free movement among EU member states and more control on borders through a European border police force.

Last Tuesday, the European Union announced an agreement to provide assistance to Italy over the mass influx of North African migrants. Under the agreement, Italy was allowed to grant a six-month visa for the Tunisian refugees who arrived before April 4.

The temporary passport entitles its holders for free movement in the entire territory of the EU. It is estimated that France receives 50,000 migrants per year, while Italy only 10,000; without taking into account the Lampedusa ongoing crisis.

Previously, Italy and Tunisia reached an agreement on illegal immigration that includes the repatriation of migrants. Italy offered a credit-and-aid package worth some 250 million Euros ($354 million) to help the Tunisian government with the migrant crisis.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-04-26

[mjd]

how strange ,france was happy to let god knows how many people to sit in calais to try to jump ship to the uk,,,,,,,,,,,,

[bangkokeddy]

Some EU skeptics and also some Thais would love that.

As cool as the Schengen idea is and how it offers greater freedom to travel, in pre Schengen times some European countries had bilateral agreements with some non EU-states that offered better deals.

Bi-lateral agreements like Thailand has with South Korea or Chile, that offers the passport holder of these countries a 90 days free visa stay.

Pre-Schengen Thailand had deals with each European country and they where different. For Thais was it easier and less complicated in the visa process to travel to certain countries like it is now under Schengen and so was it for certain Europeans when they wanted to visit Thailand. With Schengen these European countries had to cancel the better deals.

Source: some of the older generation of expats told me that.

Don't forget: freedom to travel is not a one-way road.

Edited April 26, 2011 by bangkokeddy