By Martha Moss - 11th May 2011
Socialist group leader Martin Schulz has condemned proposals to temporarily reintroduce border checks in the Schengen zone as "over the top" and "erroneous".
His comments came after commission president José Manuel Barroso announced plans to strengthen border controls in the 25-nation Schengen area, which allows citizens from most EU member countries to travel without passports.
The move is aimed at tackling illegal immigration, and comes after some 22,000 refugees, mostly Tunisians, fled to Italy from the unrest in north Africa.
However, MEPs are concerned that it could weaken the principle of free movement, which Schulz said was central to the "European spirit".
Speaking in a heated debate in the Strasbourg plenary on Tuesday, he accused the commission of "caving in" to demands from France and Italy to revise the Schengen agreement.
"This is absolutely the wrong way to go about things," he said, adding that it would mean suspending the civic rights of Europe's citizens.
Barroso acknowledged that "the right to move freely is the embodiment of the European project".
The former Portuguese prime minister recalled the "many difficulties" to go from Portugal to Spain, adding, "It is a great progress of civilisation that countries are able to put borders down."
"Free movement is to Europe what foundations are to buildings - remove it and the whole structure is undermined," he said.
He added that reintroducing border controls is "not a desirable development" and would be used as "an absolute last resort".
Speaking on behalf of the EU council presidency, Hungary's EU affairs minister Eniko Gyori said that current migration flows represent a "serious challenge".
"We cannot stand idle in the face of events on the other side of the Mediterranean," she said, adding that the issue would be discussed at Thursday's extraordinary meeting of and home affairs ministers.
"The EU and the member states are ready to assist as a result of the developments in Africa," she said.
EPP vice-chair Manfred Weber said the ministers should look at long term demographic change when examining migration policy.
They should be "very careful" in the context of current high levels of unemployment, he added.
For ECR deputy chairman Timothy Kirkhope, the current Schengen system is "flawed" and "unequipped" to cope with challenges such as migration and people trafficking.
"Now is the time to focus on not only providing free movement but also better guarding the borders of member states and the EU," he said.
"Europe's immigration and Schengen policies require review, protection and sensible reform."
Greens co-chair Daniel Cohn-Bendit accused the commission of bowing to "populist pressure and racism" in proposing the reintroduction of border checks.
"Border checks will be a check on what people look like," he warned.
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