Germany backs Sarkozy on border protection

Germany is backing the demand of French President Nicolas Sarkozy to give nations of the Schengen borderless zone more independent means to close off their national territory "as a last resort”. Only days ahead of France's first round of Presidential Elections where illegal immigration is a major issue, Berlin and Paris sent a joint letter to the EU demanding the "non-negotiable" right to re-establish national border controls for a month if need be. Sarkozy has threatened that, if re-elected, he could pull France out of Europe's border-free travel zone if more is not done to tackle illegal immigration. The purpose of the Schengen zone is to make travel easier between its 25 member countries.