Brussels proposes Schengen shake up

“Europe’s border controls could be restored if individual countries persistently fail to protect the bloc’s external frontier. The new curbs unveiled by the EU Commission for the passport-free Schengen zone aim to ease mounting concerns over illegal immigration.

The EU Commissions home affairs chief Cecilia Malmstrom did not hide the fact that the proposals had resulted from a recent border spat between Paris and Rome.

She said: “Under exceptional circumstances if a country cannot protect their borders that affects all the European Union, then there could be temporary suspension of that border, taken jointly by the member states, but no country can be excluded from Schengen.”

But Brussels appears to have set itself on a collision course with some individual member states. Under the plan they would have to seek approval to keep their borders closed for more than five days.”