EU is poised to restrict free travel within Schengen Area

EU is poised to restrict free travel within Schengen Area. (DS).

BRUSSELS: European Union countries are poised to restrict passport-free travel by invoking an emergency rule to impose controls at several borders for two more years because of the migration crisis, according to EU documents seen by The Associated Press.

The switch will reverse a decades-old trend of expanding passport-free travel in Europe.

The documents show that EU policy makers are preparing to make unprecedented use of an emergency provision by declaring that Greece is failing to sufficiently protect it border. Some 2,000 people are still arriving daily on Greek islands in smugglers' boats from Turkey, most of them keen to move deeper into Europe to wealthier countries like Germany and Sweden.

In Brussels on Friday, EU nations acknowledged that the overall functioning of Schengen "is at serious risk" and said Greece must make further efforts to deal with the migrant crisis at its source.

With a sense of compromise, Friday's EU statement acknowledged the vast challenge facing Greece, saying "the very large number of arrivals is such that the external border controls of any member state would be placed under severe pressure."

So far, six Schengen members have imposed border checks, and many of those would have to dismantle them starting in mid-May under Schengen rules. Germany has until May 13, and has made clear that it does not want to relinquish the checks. The other countries are France, Austria, Denmark, and Norway. Read the full story here.

Greece agrees to recognize Turkey as ‘safe’ country meaning it can turn back refugees.

Greece agrees to recognize Turkey as ‘safe’ country meaning it can turn back refugees. (ekathimerini).

Greek authorities agreed on Friday to recognize Turkey as a “safe third country,” which means migrants for whom Turkey is a country of transit, not of origin, can be returned there.

The decision was announced after a meeting in Athens between Greek Interior Minister Panayiotis Kouroublis and his French and German counterparts, Bernard Cazeneuve and Thomas de Maiziere.

“This is a major step for Greece and we are taking it because we want to show our willingness to find a comprehensive way to address the problem,” said Kouroublis after the meeting. European officials said the shift in Greek policy was a “good start.”

The goal “cannot just be to register arriving refugees and to relocate them equitably [but above all] to reduce the flow,” said de Maiziere at the end of his two-day visit. He added that Germany is sending 100 police officers and two coast guard vessels to Greece.

Cazeneuve said he is in favor of the European Union border agency taking on greater responsibility. Data from the passport-free Schengen zone must include “terrorism [records] by police and intelligence agencies, and conditions must be created to link the Schengen system to other criminal records,” Cazeneuve told reporters.

Greece is under pressure to complete the creation of more “hot spots” for registering refugees and migrants later this month. Athens has enlisted the help of the army to carry out the work.

As of yesterday, 94 prefabricated structures had been delivered to the site in Chios and 87 on Leros. Construction work was under way on Samos, where an old army firing range is being converted.

On Kos, riot police who had been sent to the island from Athens fired tear gas to deter some 100 locals who tried to force their way into a disused army camp that is being turned into a hot spot.

European Union sources told Kathimerini they are hopeful that at least three of the five centers will be ready in the next few days given that the army is now coordinating the work and humanitarian aid has arrived from other EU member states.  Hmmm........Return to sender.

Video - Danish female journalist on rapes and terrorism: We need men “that can stand up, who can fight back”

French Defense Minister Says 'Major Risk' of IS Crossing in to Europe with Libya Refugees.

French Defense Minister Says 'Major Risk' of IS Crossing in to Europe with Libya Refugees. (Naharnet).

Islamic State fighters hiding among refugees traveling from Libya to Italy pose a "major risk" to Europe, French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Sunday. 

Le Drian said there was an "urgent" need for a political solution to the crisis in Libya to help combat the spread of the Islamic State group (IS), which now has several thousand fighters in the North African country.

"Daesh is installing itself," Le Drian told French TV, using the Arabic acronym for the IS group. 

"I have been very worried about Libya since September 2014. They are there, nearly 300 kilometers from the coast, and they are spreading."

He said that put IS only 350 kilometers from the Italian island of Lampedusa, the arrival point for thousands of migrants and refugees leaving Libya for the European Union.

"When good weather comes to the Mediterranean, there is the risk that (IS fighters) could make the crossing, mixing in with refugees. It's a major risk," said Le Drian. Read the full story here.

Bulgarian PM Borisov Calls for Immediately Closing EU's External Borders.

Bulgarian PM Borisov Calls for Immediately Closing EU's External Borders. (Novinite).

Bulgarian Prime Minister called on Friday for an immediate closure of the external borders of the EU in view of the ongoing migrant crisis.

Borisov said this during a joint briefing with his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban who arrived on a visit to Bulgaria on Thursday evening.

The Bulgarian prime minister noted that European leaders have failed to reach consensus on this issue at several meetings of the European Council.

He expressed hope that at the forthcoming meetings of the European Council the European leaders will be fairer towards the migrants.

In his words, Europe could no longer sustain the refugee influx.

According to him, the return of migrants once they have reached western Europe was even more inhumane than halting them at the external borders.

Borisov was convinced that if earlier calls for closing the external borders had been heard half a year ago, there would have been need for fewer migrants to be returned.

He was firm that the stance of the EU should take into account the common European solidarity as no single state should be left on its own to deal with all the refugees.

During the press conference, Orban called on the EU to admit the success of Bulgaria in dealing with the refugee crisis and to offer the country membership to the Schengen Area.

Macedonia 'Closes Border with Greece to Migrants'

Macedonia 'Closes Border with Greece to Migrants'. (Novinete).

Greece says Macedonia is no longer allowing migrants to enter the country on their way to Central and Western Europe, ABC news reports.

Skopje officials did not immediately comment, but Athens maintains the border has effectively been sealed off to migrants for several days.

Macedonia announced in November it would only let in people seeking asylum from countries where conflict is raging, such as Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan. The step was announced as a result of similar decisions from Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia.

Last week, some EU member states' governments suggested the EU should ask Bulgaria and Macedonia, Greece's northern neighbors, for more cooperation if Athens fails to provide the border controls needed to curb the flow of migrants into Europe.

Dutch plan for EU ‘refugee swap’ with Turkey.

Dutch plan for EU ‘refugee swap’ with Turkey. (EUObserver).

The Netherlands is gathering support among a group of EU countries for a plan to accept “a couple hundred thousand refugees per year” from Turkey, in exchange for sending back all illegal migrants that arrive in Greece.

The plan was revealed on Thursday (28 January) by Dutch social-democrat leader Diederik Samsom in an interview with newspaper De Volkskrant, and has the support of prime minister Mark Rutte.

The Netherlands currently holds the rotating six-month EU presidency.

“I think there is a realistic chance that by this spring a leading group of EU countries will have an agreement with Turkey about a legal migration route for a couple hundred thousand refugees per year, in exchange for [Turkey] accepting back everyone who enters [the EU] via Greece,” Samsom told the paper's Brussels correspondent.

The idea is to distribute "between 150,000 and 250,000" refugees among EU countries who voluntarily take part in the plan. #BS  ----->

A first meeting about the plan took place in December, with Rutte, German chancellor Angela Merkel, Swedish prime minister Stefan Loefven, and Dutch EU commissioner Frans Timmermans.





Samsom noted he has been speaking “intensively” with Germany, Austria, and Sweden “because they have social-democrats in the government”.

“In the worst case scenario, only these countries plus a few like France, Spain, and Portugal take part,” he said, adding that France has been “dodging” the issue.

“When I call prime minister Valls [about the plan], he says 'interessant, tres interessant', and hopes I don't ask any further.”

While under the Samsom plan reluctant member states would not be forced to take up any refugees, they would have to pitch in financially. The plan, which he described as “the permanent [EU] asylum system”, would be funded from the EU budget.

For the plan to work and for illegal migrants to be sent back to Turkey “by return ferry”, Turkey would have to be considered a safe country by United Nations criteria. Hmmmm.......Why do i have the feeling that the EU population is watching a Kabuki theater performance? Read more here.

#Turkey PM @Ahmet_Davutoglu tells Turkish businesspeople in #Germany that hundreds of thousands of #Syrians will likely come to Germany

— Abdullah Bozkurt (@abdbozkurt) January 23, 2016

EU ministers to meet in Amsterdam to discuss reintroducing national border controls for two years.

EU ministers to meet in Amsterdam to discuss reintroducing national border controls for two years. (RT).

EU ministers will meet in Amsterdam to discuss steps to allow states to reintroduce national border controls for two years, possibly spelling the end for the 30-year-old Schengen Agreement allowing passport-free travel across 26 states, according to reports.

The refugee crisis has pushed Europe to “a make or break” point, IMF chief Christine Lagarde said at the World Economic Forum in Davos last week, giving rise to fresh fears that the Schengen agreement – currently cracking under the strain of migrants arriving en masse from the Middle East, Africa and beyond – could be reviewed.

The influx of refugees has greatly increased the pressure on Schengen, and when asked whether it was at risk, Lagarde replied: “Yes, I think so.”

Under the Schengen Agreement, temporary border checks may be extended for a total period of two years. For the extension to happen, EU leaders have to agree that "persistent serious deficiencies" in controls at Schengen's external borders put its very existence in jeopardy.

"We have not yet launched this mechanism ... (but) this possibility exists, it is there and the Commission is prepared to use it if need be," a spokeswoman for the EU's executive said of the potential extension on Friday, Reuters reported. The Commission would then have to recommend the extension and the European Council approve it by a qualified majority.

So far six Schengen members (Germany, Sweden, Austria, France, Denmark and non-EU member Norway) have been forced to resort to reinstating temporary border checks in the passport-free area - measures which can stay in place until May. Read the full story here.

Stopping the Flow: Berlin searching a for Back-Up Plan in Refugee Crisis.

Stopping the Flow: Berlin searching a for Back-Up Plan in Refugee Crisis. (Spiegel).

Sometimes, the greatest changes are announced very quietly. Each Thursday, representatives of the countries located along the refugee route that crosses the Balkans meet by video conference for a briefing on the current situation. Are there sufficient accommodations in Greece? Are there enough heated tents in Croatia. There are numerous organizational and administrative questions, and the whole affair has an almost routine feel to it.

Participating in the group on Germany's behalf is Uwe Corsepius, Chancellor Angela Merkel's European policy advisor. Last Thursday, he and his colleagues from Austria and Slovenia informed the others first talks were being conducted about, among other things, finding ways to better control Slovenia's borders.

That may not sound like much, but was nothing less than an announcement that Germany was making a strategic shift in its refugee policies. Merkel has been insistent that a European solution needs to be found for the crisis. But asked what this "European solution" might look like, officials are giving a different answer these days than they used to.

Previously, the official German position had been that refugees should be stopped at the European Union's external borders in Greece and Italy. The plan had been to open up large initial reception centers, so-called hotspots, where refugees would be registered and a decision made on their possible redistribution to other European countries. Merkel says she is still pursuing this plan.


The problem is that the opening of the hotspots is moving ahead extremely slowly. Greece in particular, the country through which most refugees are currently traveling to the European Union, isn't adhering to its obligations. It's one of the main reasons the number of refugees has not dropped in Germany to a degree that might reduce political pressure on Merkel.

The idea foresees Slovenia playing a key role -- as the first country after Greece along the West Balkan route that has an external Schengen border. The plan would envision stopping all migrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan and North Africa there. Read the full story here.

'EU Needs Fence on Bulgaria, Macedonia Borders with Greece to Stop Migrants' Hungarian PM Orban.

'EU Needs Fence on Bulgaria, Macedonia Borders with Greece to Stop Migrants' Hungarian PM Orban. (Novinite).

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said that the EU needs a fence along Greece’s borders with Macedonia and Bulgaria to cope with the ongoing migrant influx and save the bloc’s Schengen area of passport-free travel.

"If we cannot secure the outer border (of the EU), regardless of how costly or demanding that is, we will destroy the Schengen regime by ourselves," Reuters quoted Orban as saying during a visit to Slovenia on Friday .

Two weeks ago, Orban told Hungary’s public radio that Bulgaria, which is bordering Greece to the north, should be admitted into Schengen Area because the EU’s deal with Turkey to stem the flow of migrants into Europe in exchange for possible financial aid of EUR 3 B wouldn’t be enough to deter migrant pressure.

Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has also called for talks with Bulgaria and Macedonia to curb the migrant inflow as the EU’s southern frontiers– and particularly Greece’s long maritime border - were still wide open to the ongoing influx of migrants and refugees from the Middle East and Africa.

David Boss: "Now imagine 1 billion inhabitants, imagine they all move north towards Europe.”

David Boss: "Now imagine 1 billion inhabitants, imagine they all move north towards Europe.” (Bloomberg).

The founder of the World Economic Forum, which will hold its annual meeting this weekend in Davos, Switzerland, is predicting that falling oil prices could worsen the migrant crisis and bring chaos to Europe.

As the crash in commodities prices spreads economic woe across the developing world, Europe could face a wave of migration that will eclipse today’s refugee crisis, says Klaus Schwab, executive chairman of the World Economic Forum.

“Look how many countries in Africa, for example, depend on the income from oil exports,” Schwab said in an interview ahead of the WEF’s 46th annual meeting, in the Swiss resort of Davos. “Now imagine 1 billion inhabitants, imagine they all move north.”

“First, we have to look at the root causes of this,” Schwab said. “The normal citizen today is overwhelmed by the complexity and rapidity of what’s happening, not only in the political world but also the technological field.”

That sense of dislocation has fueled the rise of radical political leaders who tap into a rich vein of anger and xenophobia. For reason to prevail, Schwab said, “we have to re-establish a sense that we all are in the same boat.”

Schwab warns that technological innovation may result in the loss of 20 million jobs in the coming years. Those job cuts risk “hollowing out the middle class,” Schwab said, “a pillar of our democracies.” Read the full story here.

German journalist reveals: 'German broadcaster WDR had to be positive about refugees'.

German WDR journalist Claudia Zimmermann reveals: 'German broadcaster had to be positive about refugees'. (HLN)[GoogleTranslated].

Journalists of the German broadcaster WDR have been instructed to broadcast positive messages about the refugees. This claimed Claudia Zimmermann, journalist of the WDR in Aachen, on the Dutch radio program 'The Mood'.

Committees that determine the government policy in broadcasting have given journalist orders to support the Merkel government policy.

According to Zimmerman this was especially true during the initial phase of the so-called 'Wilkommenskultur'  of a positive approach to the refugee issue by the TV station.

"We are a public broadcaster that is paid for with tax money," said the journalist. "It is therefore not surprising that we interpret the sound of the government."

After the mass rapes in Cologne and other German cities things changed. "Now let's hear critical voices," says Zimmerman. According to her, in Germany does not constitute a so-called 'silent cartel.

"Bewildered and  perplexed WDR has  responded and contradicted the claims of the freelance collaborator. "Our journalists work completely independently," said spokeswoman Ingrid Schmitz.

Zimmerman for her part, has come back on her earlier statements after the reaction of WDR. "Under pressure from the live event that one radio program entails, I mouthed nonsense," she hinted.

Germany's SPD: "We need a multi-billion-euro package to integrate refugees in Germany"

You can't integrate oil into Water.

Germany's SPD: "We need a multi-billion-euro package to integrate refugees in Germany". (DS).

Germany needs to raise spending on police, education and daycare by at least 5 billion euros ($5.45 billion) to successfully integrate a record number of asylum seekers and avoid social tensions, its deputy government leader said Monday.

Speaking after a meeting of senior Social Democrats (SPD), the coalition partner in Chancellor Angela Merkel's government, Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel said Berlin must avoid social strife in light of the rising numbers of mainly Muslim refugees.

"We can only manage the double task of integration, namely accommodating the new arrivals and also preserving the cohesion of our society, if we have a strong state capable of acting," said Gabriel, SPD party leader and economy minister.

He called for a joint effort by the federal and state governments as well as municipalities to share the task of integrating the hundreds of thousands of refugees whose asylum applications are approved.

"We need an additional 9,000 police in Germany, 25,000 new teachers and 15,000 daycare workers," Gabriel said. He also called for a doubling of funds for public housing to avoid a shortage of affordable housing in urban areas.

"The costs for this integration package are around five billion euros and government, federal states and municipalities have to agree on who exactly will do what."

His proposal is likely to be approved at a planned summit of federal and state governments in the coming months. Hmmm........Good luck with that one. Read the full story here.

Cologne assaults: "The perpetrators are men who consider it their right to abuse women"

Cologne assaults: "The perpetrators are men who consider it their right to abuse women". (Rudaw).By Judit Neurink.

The news of the sexual abuse in Cologne, Germany during New Year’s Eve reverberated across the West. Over 350 women have filed complaints with the police.

As someone living partly in the Kurdistan Region and partly in the West, I am touched by the way the incident is creating waves that have results for asylum seekers who recently came to Europe: borders are closing and single men are less welcome.

But it also affects those who already are living in Europe; in Germany some swimming pools will no longer accept single men.

Voice from the extreme right claiming that allowing Middle Eastern men in will lead to a rise in sexual violence, have become even louder. Now this can no longer be brushed aside as racist.

I am reminded of incidents we hear of in the region where some of the perpetrators originate: about taxi drivers who abuse women after they step in their cars in their own, and men who grope women in shopping centres and bars.

Violence against women is a problem in Iraq, and in Kurdistan a special department has been set up to battle it. 

But still women are killed in honour related incidents, or they are forced to set themselves on fire to make it look like a suicide.

Recently, a woman was found dead in an area not far from where I live in the Kurdistan capital of Erbil. The initial reports were that she was murdered. But a couple of days later, the police published a report claiming she had committed suicide – that hardly anyone believed.

In a region where women are mainly valued for their honour, girls are taught how to behave so they won’t attract the (unwanted) attention of men. At the same time, boys are often brought up as princes who can have all they ask for. While girls are taught to protect themselves, boys do not learn to keep their hands off.

And even worse, if boys misbehave, they often get away with it. But girls pay the price, by being criticized or even punished for losing their honour – even if they are not to blame, they do get the blame. What does this tell men? That they are superior and have more rights. And women? That they are second after the men.

While in Western countries women are considered equal to men, in Islamic countries they are not. Their testimony is worth half compared to that of a man, they only get half of the share of the heritage compared to their brothers.

Religion, culture and tradition put men above women. Men have to look after the women, not because as mothers they need protection for themselves and their offspring, but because they are considered to be their property – or at least so it is felt. That’s why many husbands keep their women at home and/or order her to wear a scarf. Because other men may take the liberty to put their eye on them, or even more.

This clash between the sexes now has spilt over to Europe. Boys who were brought up in a world where women are kept away from their eager fingers, find themselves in a sweetshop with all these western women who walk around without a visible owner.

It’s not that sexual abuse does not happen in the West. It happens, and incidents like the one in Cologne have also been reported during pop concerts.

But what is new, is that the hunt is on. And that the perpetrators are men who consider it their right to abuse women, as they are not protected by anyone.

It’s a bit like the religious zealot who took and destroyed a bottle of arak that was in my car, when I sent it in for servicing. He was not wrong for taking my property and imposing his religious rules on me, I was to blame for not protecting it.

Years of development of freedom, of feminism and fighting for equal rights have been lost on these men. The fact that in a free society people abide by all kinds of (unwritten) rules not because they are forced to, but because they choose to in order to be able to live in freedom, is lost on them too.

What should the West do, to guarantee the continuation of this beloved freedom, and yet welcome newcomers?

First of all: do not get scared. Fear is a bad advisor. 

Second: add lessons about the position of woman and the liberties of the western society to the packet of information given to asylum seekers. And teach them this society that attracted them in the first place, is based on a balancing act that involves trust, respect and stability. 

Third: punish the perpetrators. Because before everything else, they need to understand how valuable this way of life is, and that westerners will not allow them to destroy it.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rudaw.

Austria suspends Schengen agreement, steps up border control, tells EU to clean up their refugee act.

Austria suspends Schengen agreement, steps up border control, tells EU to clean up their refugee act. (RT).

Vienna is radically changing its policy towards migrants and refugees, Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann told local media.

“All refugees must be controlled, economic migrants must be sent to the countries of their origin,” Faymann said in an interview with Austria’s Oesterreich newspaper, to be published on Sunday.

The government is implementing a strict monitoring system for asylum seekers, the chancellor said, adding that, just like in neighboring Germany, its border controls are being tightened, and repatriations of refugees are carried out.

“Anyone who arrives at our border is subject to control,” Faymann said. Consequently, the Schengen agreement on open borders is “temporarily cancelled” in Austria, the chancellor said.

“If the EU does not manage to secure the external borders, Schengen as a whole is put into question...Then each country must control its national borders,” Faymann told the newspaper, adding that if the bloc’s external borders are not secured in the near future, “the whole EU [will be] in question.”  Hmmm.........The end of Europe thanks to the refugees welcome policy. 

Read the full story here.

Related: 

Can the refugee crisis and subsequent rise of Extreme right make the EU fall apart?

Judge: Merkel Committed Historic Breach Of Law In Opening Borders, Constitution Allows ‘Right To Resist’ https://t.co/l0xvYU6lVo

— MFS - The Other News (@MFS001) January 17, 2016

Germany - Cologne police have arrested TWO Suspects in the Silvester sexual assault cases.

Germany - Cologne police have arrested TWO Suspects in the Silvester sexual assault cases. (HLN)[GoogleTranslated].

German police have arrested two suspects who would have been involved in assaults and robberies of many women and girls around New Year in the center of Cologne. Broadcaster WDR reported Friday. Police have not yet confirmed this.

It involves two men with a migrant background "who were present during the violence and have captured on their mobile cell phones images. They also have established some basic knowledge of German. There were among others the Arabic texts "beautiful breasts", "I will kill you" and "I want to have sex with you" translated into German.

The police have so far 21 suspects in mind. There are 170 declarations of assault and theft of which 117 declarations made ​​in relation to sexual assaults.

Related:

Outcry of German female commissioner, 'Male Muslims have no respect for female cops or Authority'.

Video - German public broadcaster ZDF: Islamic immigrants - Effects on Germany.(English subtitled).

German public broadcaster ZDF important and sobering documentary that clearly illustrates how catastrophic islam and non-Western immigration, has been, and still very much is, for Germany