In 1985, several European states signed an agreement in Luxembourg, thanks to which the so-called Schengen area subsequently appeared. The peculiarity of the zone is that from the point of view of international travel, it acts as a single state, in which border control is carried out only when entering and leaving the Schengen area, but is absent on the internal borders of the states that have signed the agreement. These days, the status of the Schengen area seems to be undergoing some changes.
Today, the Schengen area includes twenty-six states with a total area of more than 4 million square meters. km and with a population exceeding 400 million people. For the first time in the long years of the agreement, moving within Europe could be difficult. The reason for the changes that are planned to be introduced into the Schengen Agreement is, first of all, an increase in the number of migrants from other regions. However, some analysts believe that changes in border crossing regimes will make travel more difficult and time-consuming, but will not affect migration rates.
In the spring of 2012, France and Germany sent a request to Denmark, the presidency of the European Union, demanding the right to make a decision on the temporary restriction of freedom of movement in case there is a threat to security or public order in certain countries.
In early June 2012, the EU Council of Ministers adopted these amendments to the Schengen Agreement. According to the amendments, the governments of the countries of the zone can, if necessary, introduce control on their internal borders, up to a temporary closure, RIA Novosti reports. This measure can be introduced, for example, if in one of the countries the problem of refugees becomes aggravated.
The heads of the internal political departments of the EU countries at a meeting in Luxembourg unanimously supported the initiative. The heads of the ministries of the interior of the states concerned have also agreed on a mechanism for joint action in emergency cases. At the same time, the maximum period for border closure cannot exceed two years. For all changes to come into force, they must be approved by the European Parliament and the European Commission.
Commenting on the amendments to the agreement, the Minister of Justice of Denmark M. Bedskow expressed concern about the problem of migrants and expressed the opinion that in these cases there should be no weak links in the chain of measures to ensure security. It is possible that soon Europeans, unaccustomed to borders, will have to adapt again to queues at border checkpoints.
