EU Parliament against border controls in Schengen area

The European Parliament (EP) Thursday adopted a resolution strongly opposing the reintroduction of border controls within the Schengen area. The influx of migrants and asylum seekers cannot justify them, said the resolution. An EP statement noted that the Schengen system has recently come under pressure, with some EU countries considering the reintroduction of national border controls in the face of the sudden influx of migrants from North Africa. The current Schengen Borders Code provides for the possibility of reintroducing internal border controls "only where there is a serious threat to public policy or internal security," points out the resolution. Under the current system, any decision to reintroduce border controls is taken unilaterally by EU Member States. The EU Parliament, however, wants the new Schengen evaluation mechanism to be made into an EU system.