REVIEW & OUTLOOK
Updated April 23, 2012, 7:22 p.m. ET
The End of Borderless Europe?
Another potential casualty of the French presidential election.
France's presidential campaign has been a parade of policy lowlights—from
attacks on the independence of the European Central Bank to calls for 75% tax
rates—and that's only in the first round. Now there's evidence that one of the
campaign's worst ideas may be getting traction elsewhere in Europe.
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The Süddeutsche Zeitung reported Friday that German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich and his French counterpart Claude Guéant have asked the European Union to allow 30-day internal border controls whenever the EU's external borders are deemed to be insufficiently controlled. The 1985 Schengen Treaty currently allows controls only when "public policy or national security" demands it, such as during major sporting events or after London's 2005 bomb attacks.
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The Schengen Treaty is one of the best features of modern-day Europe. It eliminates border hassles, facilitates trade and tourism, and creates the tangible sense that Europe is greater than the sum of its parts. But what's a good thing if some politician doesn't want to ruin it?
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Corbis
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That politician is Nicolas Sarkozy. In a bid to win the anti-immigrant vote,
the French President threatened last month to withdraw France from Schengen if
the treaty isn't renegotiated to better prevent illegal immigration. That
followed France's decision last April to turn back trains from Italy after some
25,000 refugees crossed the sea to escape the turmoil in North Africa.
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What's new is that Germany seems to be coming aboard. Last year, Mr. Friedrich denounced the French proposal and later opposed Denmark's decision to reinstate spot checks at its borders. Now he says that "we need interior border controls not just during large events, such as football matches or large conventions, but also when member states don't fulfill their duties."
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In Europe, as everywhere in the developed world, immigration poses important questions for governments that host and support migrants, and for societies that work to integrate them. Few border or immigration regimes are foolproof, and those that "work"—think of the Korean DMZ—aren't always worthy of emulation.
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The Süddeutsche Zeitung reported Friday that German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich and his French counterpart Claude Guéant have asked the European Union to allow 30-day internal border controls whenever the EU's external borders are deemed to be insufficiently controlled. The 1985 Schengen Treaty currently allows controls only when "public policy or national security" demands it, such as during major sporting events or after London's 2005 bomb attacks.
.
The Schengen Treaty is one of the best features of modern-day Europe. It eliminates border hassles, facilitates trade and tourism, and creates the tangible sense that Europe is greater than the sum of its parts. But what's a good thing if some politician doesn't want to ruin it?
.
German Interior Minister Hans-Peter
Friedrich.
.
.
What's new is that Germany seems to be coming aboard. Last year, Mr. Friedrich denounced the French proposal and later opposed Denmark's decision to reinstate spot checks at its borders. Now he says that "we need interior border controls not just during large events, such as football matches or large conventions, but also when member states don't fulfill their duties."
.
In Europe, as everywhere in the developed world, immigration poses important questions for governments that host and support migrants, and for societies that work to integrate them. Few border or immigration regimes are foolproof, and those that "work"—think of the Korean DMZ—aren't always worthy of emulation.
.
But it's hard to see how temporary controls will do much to stem the flow of
illegal immigration. They will simply redirect that flow to underground
channels, putting migrants at greater risk and creating opportunities for crime.
As for the argument that border controls can stop terrorism, it's worth noting
that Europe's most notorious recent terrorist acts were perpetrated by people
who entered the Continent legally, if they weren't citizens to begin with.
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It should come as no surprise that politicians who have neither the courage nor the ideas to fix their economic problems should take to scapegoating foreigners, even when they are neighbors.
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It should come as no surprise that politicians who have neither the courage nor the ideas to fix their economic problems should take to scapegoating foreigners, even when they are neighbors.
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