Belgium calls for major rethink of Schengen passport-free travel zone

[webfact]

Belgium calls for major rethink of Schengen passport-free travel zone

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Europe's passport-free travel zone that allows people to move around the continent without checks must be reviewed in light of the foiled terrorist attack on a French train, the Prime Minister of Belgium has said.

Charles Michel said Europe must consider reinstating identity and luggage inspections on international train routes in light of Friday’s botched attack, 30 years after border controls were scrapped in mainland Europe.

He called for a meeting of European transport and interior ministers to review the rules.

Such a move would amount to a revision of a core pillar of the EU project – namely, that citizens can move between member states without needing to show a passport or identity papers.

It came as Britain’s former counter terrorism “tsar” called for an urgent review of security on international rail services in Europe, describing Friday’s shootings as a “warning to us all”.

The Schengen system is already under significant political strain from an influx of migrants arriving in Italy and Greece and attempting to move north.

Migrants have been confronted by riot police on the French-Italian border, and last week Germany warned that Schengen “cannot exist” unless EU member states take their fair share of asylum seekers.

The intervention from Mr Michel is noteworthy as he is a passionate defender of the principle of free movement within Europe. He recently warned David Cameron he would resist any attempt by Britain to “dismantle” the EU under his reform agenda.

Full story: http://www.eturbonews.com/62919/belgium-calls-major-rethink-schengen-passport-free-travel-zone

-- eTN 2015-08-24

[Steely Dan]

Yesterday on another thread I predicted the end of the Schengen Agreement, it is inevitable. These are the first signs of that.

[noitom]

The Europeans have to put safety and security above their individual attitudes about maintaining the Schengen Agreement.

[Michael8511]

I think you have to see the Schengen Agreement similar to the United States of America. It's a convenient way to travel through Europe now when you don't have custom and immigration from each country to deal with. Each country can still check luggage of suspect travelers as they do in U.S. The downside is the same as in U.S. Illegal immigrants enter in the south and move up north where local laws make it easier for them to live and work.

[oneday]

Wrong move. The move should be to institute metal detection and carry-on bag checks like in airports. It is going to happen eventually with more and more terrorists finding ways to kill large groups of people.

[BuaBS]

Schengen passportfree zone is good for the Europeans from that zone . But it is terrible to keep out unwanted ( migrants , refugees,...) . Once they get permision to enter 1 country , they can travel to all other , and that is a big mistake.

[h90]

Wrong move. The move should be to institute metal detection and carry-on bag checks like in airports. It is going to happen eventually with more and more terrorists finding ways to kill large groups of people.

put a bomb on the rail....problem solved. You can't check everything everywhere

[Lissos]

One complication (but one waaaaay down the list of importance) is that not everyone in Europe has a passport. Personally, I think such people are mad in the head not to have one as you never know when you may need to flee your current location at sudden notice. If the identity cards of several European states are accepted at these resurrected checkpoints then this is ok.

Regarding Britain I admit to being one of those who was deeply suspicious about Government attempts to introduce I.D cards (Big Brother fears, and all that), and later knowing some friends on the mainland via the internet who simply didn't see what our fuss was all about as ID cards are natural. In these circumstances I don't see this as a sneaky Government arranged plot to introduce ID cards fom another angle (lol), and we need to suck it up in Britain and accept that the current climate demands we adapt, for our sake.

(awaiting the inevitable Benjamin Franklin quotes. I know, I used to do that)

[h90]

wrong thinking.....terrorists would than take on domestic trains, or bus or cinema or just plant a bomb on the street

[micmichd]

Someone should find out how these "terrorists" become "terrorists"

Guess quite a few had family members killed or injured by Western (maybe Soviet) troops or arms. Now they come to kill the killers of their families.

Look and find out if this spiral of violence can be stopped by compensations.

The West has to pay for the damage done in the East. Better in money than in lives. Or?

Edited August 24, 2015 by micmichd

[simple1]

Schengen passportfree zone is good for the Europeans from that zone . But it is terrible to keep out unwanted ( migrants , refugees,...) . Once they get permision to enter 1 country , they can travel to all other , and that is a big mistake.

EU member countries need to step up resourcing, comply with and rigorously enforce the Dublin Regulation.

http://www.ecre.org/topics/areas-of-work/protection-in-europe/10-dublin-regulation.html

[Credo]

Someone should find out how these "terrorists" become "terrorists"

Guess quite a few had family members killed or injured by Western (maybe Soviet) troops or arms. Now they come to kill the killers of their families.

Look and find out if this spiral of violence can be stopped by compensations.

The West has to pay for the damage done in the East. Better in money than in lives. Or?

What a bunch of psycho-babble. Everyday all over the world people are killed for all kinds of reasons and the very, very vast majority of them do not become terrorists. There is only one factor these have in common. It is religion, and it is a specific religion.

[micmichd]

Someone should find out how these "terrorists" become "terrorists"

Guess quite a few had family members killed or injured by Western (maybe Soviet) troops or arms. Now they come to kill the killers of their families.

Look and find out if this spiral of violence can be stopped by compensations.

The West has to pay for the damage done in the East. Better in money than in lives. Or?

What a bunch of psycho-babble. Everyday all over the world people are killed for all kinds of reasons and the very, very vast majority of them do not become terrorists. There is only one factor these have in common. It is religion, and it is a specific religion.

It's called revenge, and it is present in all Abrahamic religions.

If only threatened, it's present in all legal systems.

Not so much psycho in it - unless you consider the idea to defend your family a psychiatric case.

Edited August 24, 2015 by micmichd

[Credo]

Someone should find out how these "terrorists" become "terrorists"

Guess quite a few had family members killed or injured by Western (maybe Soviet) troops or arms. Now they come to kill the killers of their families.

Look and find out if this spiral of violence can be stopped by compensations.

The West has to pay for the damage done in the East. Better in money than in lives. Or?

What a bunch of psycho-babble. Everyday all over the world people are killed for all kinds of reasons and the very, very vast majority of them do not become terrorists. There is only one factor these have in common. It is religion, and it is a specific religion.

It's called revenge, and it is present in all Abrahamic religions.

If only threatened, it's present in all legal systems.

Not so much psycho in it - unless you consider the idea defense of your family a psychiatric case.

No, it's not called revenge. It's called terrorism and there is ONE; repeat ONE, religion that practices it on a constant and everyday level. There is ONE religion that advocates it; pays the families of people who do it. Oh, and it's not the Presbyterians, by the way.

[tx22cb]

One incident, and Belgium wants to inconvenience 300 million people? The Morrocan should never have been allowed near a station with numerous guns and magazines in a duffel bag. Have random armed patrols and plain-clothed police, and vigilance training for staff. And perhaps have a promotion - US servicemen travel free on European trains.

[Lissos]

The West has to pay for the damage done in the East.

Western self loathing, a breach in the wall inviting our destruction.

[micmichd]

Someone should find out how these "terrorists" become "terrorists?

Guess quite a few had family members killed or injured by Western (maybe Soviet) troops or arms. Now they come to kill the killers of their families.

Look and find out if this spiral of violence can be stopped by compensations.

The West has to pay for the damage done in the East. Better in money than in lives. Or?

What a bunch of psycho-babble. Everyday all over the world people are killed for all kinds of reasons and the very, very vast majority of them do not become terrorists. There is only one factor these have in common. It is religion, and it is a specific religion.

It's called revenge, and it is present in all Abrahamic religions.

If only threatened, it's present in all legal systems.

Not so much psycho in it - unless you consider the idea defense of your family a psychiatric case.

No, it's not called revenge. It's called terrorism and there is ONE; repeat ONE, religion that practices it on a constant and everyday level. There is ONE religion that advocates it; pays the families of people who do it. Oh, and it's not the Presbyterians, by the way.

Then I am a member of that ONE religion?

[JHolmesJr]

Time to revoke this schengen nonsense if europe wants to stop being overrun by assorted islamic nutters....keep them in their cultural zone...the middle east.

[micmichd]

Your permanent drive to dehumanize people from other cultures by calling them "nutters" or the like says a lot about your own culture.

Edited August 24, 2015 by micmichd

[JHolmesJr]

Your permanent drive to call people from other cultures "nutters" says a lot about your own culture.

"Permanent drive"? What do you mean?

I didnt call all followers of islam nutters....I said islamic nutters...all too often hundreds if not thousands of these flow into europe along with decent muslims.

Kindly stop trying to twist my words.

[simple1]

Someone should find out how these "terrorists" become "terrorists"

Guess quite a few had family members killed or injured by Western (maybe Soviet) troops or arms. Now they come to kill the killers of their families.

Look and find out if this spiral of violence can be stopped by compensations.

The West has to pay for the damage done in the East. Better in money than in lives. Or?

If this attack is related to the calls for violence by Daesh, seems currently the majority are linked to Daesh, you really should research the Islamic vision for the apocalypse that Daesh leadership espouse. You could reasonably argue that Daesh leadership are in the game for revenge, money & power, but that's not what their selling to their acolytes, it's 7th Century Islamic delusions.

The URL link below is a good starting point.

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/03/what-isis-really-wants/384980/

Edited August 24, 2015 by simple1

[wabothai]

more security as it eventually chokes all of us.

There are better and more peaceful ways.

[kingalfred]

All these migrants economic or refugees overwhelmingly want to go to northern and western europe. Stop them. europe has no obligation to these people

[wabothai]

I am longing for the days that we had to pass the borders of each European country and show our passport.

It was kind of exciting. Even dealing with all the different currencies was fun.

Unfortunately..................

[Jonmarleesco]

'... citizens can move between member states without needing to show a passport or identity papers.' They do need to be shown; otherwise every Tom, Dick and Mohammed would be able to move freely between countries. They simply don't get stamped.

[Baerboxer]

'... citizens can move between member states without needing to show a passport or identity papers.' They do need to be shown; otherwise every Tom, Dick and Mohammed would be able to move freely between countries. They simply don't get stamped.

No they don't need to be shown. I regularly flew to Dusseldorf, drove to Maastricht and Brussels, sometimes into Luxembourg and back to Dusseldorf. The only times my passport required was when catching the plane in Britain to Dusseldorf.

There are many old road borders where the old border checks have been dismantled and remain unmanned. If you drive from Dusseldorf to Roermond in Netherlands you pass a large NATO / British Military base right on the border. No security of any kind on that border, no checks, no customs, no show anyone anything because no one there.

[micmichd]

Someone should find out how these "terrorists" become "terrorists"

Guess quite a few had family members killed or injured by Western (maybe Soviet) troops or arms. Now they come to kill the killers of their families.

Look and find out if this spiral of violence can be stopped by compensations.

The West has to pay for the damage done in the East. Better in money than in lives. Or?

If this attack is related to the calls for violence by Daesh, seems currently the majority are linked to Daesh, you really should research the Islamic vision for the apocalypse that Daesh leadership espouse. You could reasonably argue that Daesh leadership are in the game for revenge, money & power, but that's not what their selling to their acolytes, it's 7th Century Islamic delusions.

The URL link below is a good starting point.

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/03/what-isis-really-wants/384980/

Thank you for the link.

Daesh is obviously a different kind of Islam, with no logical excuses for their terror. Hopefully the majority of Moslems will wipe them out soon.

The refugees are the ones that don't agree with Daesh, do you really want to send them back to hell now?

[Grouse]

Sadly, it does look like tightening up the Schengen area would be a good idea.

Of course UK and Scandinavia are outside the zone anyway

Maybe Benelux area and Mediterranean areas? - I don't think Luxembourg needs grenzpolizei

Right now, you don't even need to show a passport if you're on the autobahns

(It did use to be fun in a pathetic way to collect stamps in one's passport though)

[Credo]

Someone should find out how these "terrorists" become "terrorists"

Guess quite a few had family members killed or injured by Western (maybe Soviet) troops or arms. Now they come to kill the killers of their families.

Look and find out if this spiral of violence can be stopped by compensations.

The West has to pay for the damage done in the East. Better in money than in lives. Or?

If this attack is related to the calls for violence by Daesh, seems currently the majority are linked to Daesh, you really should research the Islamic vision for the apocalypse that Daesh leadership espouse. You could reasonably argue that Daesh leadership are in the game for revenge, money & power, but that's not what their selling to their acolytes, it's 7th Century Islamic delusions.

The URL link below is a good starting point.

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/03/what-isis-really-wants/384980/

Thank you for the link.

Daesh is obviously a different kind of Islam, with no logical excuses for their terror. Hopefully the majority of Moslems will wipe them out soon.

The refugees are the ones that don't agree with Daesh, do you really want to send them back to hell now?

Sadly, it is the true refugees who will suffer, but it is the ones mixed in with them that have motives other than an escape from tyranny that are of concern.

[BuaBS]

All these migrants economic or refugees overwhelmingly want to go to northern and western europe. Stop them. europe has no obligation to these people

Yes some euro countries do. The ones that bombed the hell out of Libya , should get their due.

A big percentage of Africans come through Libya to go to Italy/Greece.