EU to Restrict Passport-Free Travel
More than 20 years of passport-free travel within the European Union (EU) appears to be coming to an end. The Associated Press reports the EU is close to invoking an emergency rule to continue some border controls for two more years because of the ongoing influx of Middle East migrants.
The EU has an emergency provision that allows every participating country to institute new border controls for up to two years if a member is failing to protect its border—and many policymakers believe that’s the case in Greece, where 2,000 refugees arrive daily.
Of the 83,201 migrants who arrived in Europe this year, 77,303 entered through the Greek islands, according to the International Organization for Migration.
The Greek failure means that all 28 EU member countries can do away with passport-free travel, something that officials fear could lead to a permanent end to passport-free travel in the EU.
The EU hasn’t yet implemented any new policy, but the documents say that new passport control centers at borders across Europe could be implemented soon.
