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."
In other words, we may be writing the obituary for the European dream in fairly short order because you can bet a number of countries will go full-Viktor Orban now that Brussels has finally buckled under the pressure.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-02-12/eu-ready-restrict-passport-free-travel
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
Meanwhile, Austria says it will likely close its borders altogether in the months ahead. "Most probably in the coming months our maximum number will be reached, so Austria will have to stop the migrants at its border," Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz said on Friday. As regular readers are no doubt aware, Austria has had its fair share of migrant "issues" and is already so exasperated that the government is willing to pay refugees €500 to go back where they came from.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.
In other words, we may be writing the obituary for the European dream in fairly short order because you can bet a number of countries will go full-Viktor Orban now that Brussels has finally buckled under the pressure.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-02-12/eu-ready-restrict-passport-free-travel